


The Orphaned Clones

by thelionmutters



Category: Orphan Black (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Orphan Black Fusion, Assets & Handlers, BAMF Stiles, Clones, Complete, Crossover, Drama & Romance, F/M, M/M, Multiple Stiles, Orphan Stiles, Steter - Freeform, Stilinski Family Feels, Stydia, Temporary Character Death, Thriller, clone club - Freeform, sterek, stisaac - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-05
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-01-03 13:32:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 73,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1071048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelionmutters/pseuds/thelionmutters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles has had a rough life since his father died. Drifting along wherever the wind takes him.</p><p>When he gets a chance to visit Scott, someone he hadn't seen in years he takes a train to go see him and his wife Allison.</p><p>Only things don't go as expected when Stiles has a collision with a stranger who looks identical to him...and Stiles knew for certain that he was an only child:</p><p>“How do we look alike?” he fumbled.</p><p>“There’s no time to explain,” the stranger fumbled urgently. “Everything that you need to know is in this bag; I’m running out of time. They are going to kill me. It was stupid of me to go into the building. Just take this bag and come with me; if they see you they are going to kill you as well!”</p><p>-A Teen Wolf fic set in the Orphan Black universe. Don't need to be a Orphan Black fan to get the gist of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf or Orphan Black. I'm just having fun with the characters and plots :) Hope you enjoy!

Running away is something that Stiles has been used to. When his father died it was either that or stay in a town where everyone sent pitying looks your way. Losing your mother is hard enough but losing your father too - he couldn’t handle it. He had to escape.

It wasn’t easy leaving. Forgetting everything and everyone you know, it was easier said than done. Drifting from town to town, city to city was his new way of life.  Settling down was not an option. If he became too attached then he knew that he had overstayed his welcome.  He wouldn’t be able to handle getting attached to someone only to have them die on him.  It might just break him if he had to go through that again on his own.

He was sleeping when he was suddenly throttled by a jerk.

“Shit,” He muttered so loudly that he drew looks from another passenger and her daughter, “Sorry.”

Stiles lifted up his bag and started making his way off the train. He didn’t know exactly where he was.  He never really knows where he is going until he picks some random name at whichever train station he finds himself.  However, this time, one of his school friends had invited him to town. He wouldn’t have come except that it had been a while since he had indulged himself in visiting Scott. It was the only luxury he ever allowed himself.

“Welcome to Beacon Station,” a female voice said as he stepped onto the platform.

It was particularly empty and chilly tonight as he looked around the platform. He looked at his watch, noting that it was almost 10pm. It was too late to call Scott; as close as they had been once, Stiles didn’t want to impose on him so late.

He hoped that there was a motel not too far away. He was not looking forward to having to scout for a place to sleep.

He quickly found a place to sit so he could Google search for the nearest motel.

As he got up to leave he was knocked over by someone.

“Hey! Look where you’re going, dickhead...” he said slowly getting up of the floor.

“I’m so...” the stranger started before saying, “It’s you!”

“What do you mean it’s...” he said looking straight into the stranger’s face.

He was staring at himself. It made no sense to him. The stranger he just collided with, looked identical to him - a dead ringer. Stiles knew for sure that he was an only child. He had never heard anything about having siblings and he was sure that his parents would have told him if he had.

“How do we look alike?” he fumbled.

“There’s no time to explain,” the stranger fumbled urgently. “Everything that you need to know is in this bag; I’m running out of time. They are going to kill me. It was stupid of me to go into the building. Just take this bag and come with me; if they see you they are going to kill you as well!”

The stranger threw his bag at Stiles and pulled him along as they started running. Stiles turned around to look but he couldn’t see anyone. He thought that this guy was crazy, but if he wanted answers then he was going to have to trust this stranger and run. He was about to stop and demand answers when he suddenly heard gun fire. He turned to see that there were men chasing after them, shooting as they ran along. Immediately his survival mode kicked in; knowing that if he wanted to survive, he was going to have to trust this stranger.

They kept running until they turned down an alleyway. They were running to the other side when suddenly a car pulled up blocking their exit. The stranger didn’t waste a second and kicked in a door that Stiles wasn’t even aware was there and ran into the building. He could hear the voices outside getting louder. The people chasing them meant business. He noticed then that they had broken into some type of abandoned building.

They ran until the stranger came to a room and stacked things against the door to keep it shut.

“What are we going to do?” Stiles said wheezing out of breath.

“You are going to hide,” the stranger said, “no matter what happens don’t make a sound because if they get to you then it’s over. I’m trusting you to survive.”

“You’re trusting the wrong guy...” Stiles mumbled.

“That was not what I needed to hear,” he said as the voices got closer. “I want to warn you now; they are going to kill me. No matter what happens - stay still. Everything you need to know is in the bag I gave you, once you escape to a safe enough location open it and you will know where to go.”

“You’re awfully calm for a guy who’s about to die,” Stiles said feeling sad for the stranger he just met.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said.

He went to open the window that lead to the stairwell while Stiles hid away in one of the containers in the room. The voices were getting closer and soon enough they were banging on the very room hiding Stiles.

The stranger was in the centre of the room when they busted in, quickly surrounding him. Stiles was only able to see a sliver of what was happening through the gap of the container he was in.

“Hey now guys...take it easy,” the stranger smiled humorously, “It’s just little old me. You don’t want to take out an unarmed innocent man now, do you?”

“Innocent?” someone answered. “Come on Jimmy, we both know that you are _far_ from innocent.”

“That may be true,” Jimmy conceded, “but at least I am not guilty of being a spineless idiot who takes pleasure in killing his own people.”

“Own people?” the voice laughed maliciously. “Oh how you crack me up, Jimmy. I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m sure you are,” Jimmy smiled.

“Where’s the bag Jimmy?” the voice asked coldly.

“What bag?”

“Don’t. Play. Dumb.” The voice threatened.

“Ah... the one you been chasing me for?” Jimmy laughed. “Sorry but I threw that shit away. When I realised how useless it all was I ditched it.”

“Where is the person you were with?” the voice asked.

“What person? It’s just me.”

“Stop lying to me, we got reports that you had someone with you.”

“Nope. Just me. You guys must be going blind if you’re seeing double,” Jimmy started laughing when suddenly a gunshot went off.

Everything in Stiles went cold as he saw Jimmy’s body fall to the ground lifelessly.

“What did you do that for?” another voice asked.

“He wasn’t going to tell us anything,” the voice said walking towards the body. “He was playing games and that is the thing I hate most.”

Stiles remained deadly quiet as he heard the footsteps come closer to where he was.

“He was just a pawn anyway,” the voice said standing over Jimmy’s body.

“A pawn that was extremely important to the organisation!” the other voice said.

“He was not going to be useful. We were going to terminate him soon anyway. I just speeded the process along,” the voice said kneeling down to the body.

Stiles’ eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the face of the person kneeling down. He looked identical to Jimmy.

Stiles felt like he was going to be sick. None of this made any sense. He was staring at his face on someone else’s body. Seeing it on Jimmy was weird enough but now seeing it on Jimmy’s killer? There was clearly something way bigger than he could understand going on. All he wanted to do was scream but if he did that, he knew he would be dead, just like Jimmy.

“What are we going to do about the person he had with him, Dylan?” the other voice asked.

“The window to the stairwell is open, I think that his accomplice ran that way,” the voice, Dylan, responded. “Find him and bring him in. If the accomplice causes any hassles - shoot to kill.”

Most of the other men that had been in the room quickly left in search of the accomplice Jimmy had, unaware that he was actually in the room with them.

Dylan removed his hands from the body after verifying Jimmy’s death. “Dispose of the body and make it quick.”

“Yes sir,” the other voice said dispatching a few on the men in the room to get the supplies. The other men in the room left quickly, most probably in search of a body bag.

Stiles couldn’t help but feel that he had heard the other voice before. There was something familiar about it. He had heard it somewhere but he just couldn’t figure out where.

So many questions were going through Stiles’ mind and he knew that leaving them unanswered was something that was going to bug him. He just wished that he was one of those people who could let something like this go and carry on with his life but he couldn’t. Even though searching for the answers would most likely get him killed.

He didn’t move a muscle while the men in black suits were moving in and out of the room. Moving Jimmy’s body into a body bag and clearing up the blood pool that had spread from Jimmy’s lifeless body on the floor.

All Stiles could think as he was looking at Jimmy’s dead body was that that was how he would look if he died. If he had to die, he would be alone lying on the ground somewhere with no one to mourn him and no one to attend his funeral. It all just made him depressed. He had no one. Like Jimmy lying alone and desolate on the floor. That was Stiles’ life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone :)  
> This is my first time writing a fic so I hope you all have enjoyed it. The fic started because I wanted a fic where everyone will be able to get their own pairing in a way. I can’t promise that it will be exactly how it sounds but some version of that. The clones will be introduced later on in the story. I'll post a note closer to the time if I need to clear anything up. I hope you stay with me along the journey. It’s going to be a slow burn so please be patient. I want to thank my friend, pandamonium_express, for being my beta. She helped immensely with editing my errors and wow, there were a lot of them but in the end it only makes the story better which is what everyone wants - a good fic.
> 
> If you have any suggestions or comments then post them in the comment section and I will consider them with great thought. I'll try and post as quickly as I can!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf or Orphan Black. I'm just having fun with the characters and plots :) Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Hey, everyone. Before you get started please note that the characterisation of Stiles changes when he is impersonating someone else but all in due time, you will get your lovable, awkward and sarcastic, gangly Stiles. Once again thanks to my lovely beta for the editing. I appreciate you so much for doing this.

Stiles waited an hour after they were gone before he decided to move. Getting out of his container would have been easy for most people but for Stiles it was a mission. His body felt like lead and with his natural awkwardness it took him forever before he was finally free. He didn’t realise how long he was staring at the spot where Jimmy’s lifeless body use to lie before he finally decided to get a move on. He was sure that the men in black were gone but he was still vigilant as he navigated through the deserted building in hopes of finding himself a safer place to open the bag that Jimmy gave him.

Stiles was as pale as a ghost when he walked onto the street. He couldn’t believe what had happened. He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn’t notice he was being followed.

He ducked into a local bar and made a beeline for the bathroom. Having worked at enough bars over the years, he had learned the important lesson that if you want peace and quiet that is where you are likely to find it.

He sat on the lid of the toilet in one of the bathroom stalls when he decided to go through the bag Jimmy gave him. In it had money, some of which he quickly pocketed - he needed some for necessities. He also saw that it had an identification card with no name on it, just a symbol, and some passports with different names in each and Jimmy’s personals like his wallet and phone. He thought that was it until he saw that there was another phone in the bag, a set of keys and a... police badge?

Stiles had no clue what he had just stumbled into but it seemed to be huge. He believed in a few conspiracy theories but this was some next level shit. He opened the badge and saw Jimmy’s face staring right him. For that Dylan guy and his men in black to kill a cop in cold blood and on top of that a cop that looked exactly like himself? All of this was very confusing.

Just then a phone started ringing. He looked at his phone but it wasn’t his, it was one of Jimmy’s.  He looked at the caller I.D and saw the name Art. He could answer it but then what was he going to say? He didn’t have enough information and he needed to get some fast otherwise he would be in a whole heap of shit with no way to get out.

He rejected the call and quickly picked up his stuff, shoving the bag that Jimmy had given him into his military bag. It belonged to his granddad. His father had always used it when they used to go camping. It was his father’s way of keeping the family tradition alive- even though camping was not their thing. Stiles couldn’t stop a small smile from forming at the memory before hastily wiping the smile from his face.

He stored the important stuff that he would need in his pockets before he made his way out of the bar. Just as he stepped outside he was grabbed by the arm by a man.

“Come with me,” the man said prodding a gun into Stiles’ side.

Stiles realised resisting would be futile at the feel of the gun, his mind going blank as Jimmy’s face popped into his mind. Instantly Stiles thought that that was about to be him.

However when they got into the car, the entire atmosphere changed.

“Why didn’t you pick up when I called?” the man asked.

“Uh...” Stiles stuttered confused as to what exactly was going on.

“I tracked you down walking along the road when I saw you go into the bar. I called you. Why didn’t you pick up?”

Stiles realised that this must have been the Art that was calling him. He had to have his wits about him especially since he was unaware of the dude’s agenda.

“I... uh, was about...to...uhm, answer when my phone died,” Stiles replied.

“What is up with you?” he asked starting the car.

 “My battery died... Art,” he gambled, “you make as if I’ve been avoiding you.”

“I would be laughing at that if I didn’t think it was true,” Art said. “You’ve been avoiding my calls for the last two days Jim, and you’re acting strange.”

“I’ve had a lot on my plate okay,” Stiles said trying to add in a few of Jimmy’s mannerisms. Clearly he was dealing with someone who knew Jimmy well if the nickname was anything to go by.

“Well you better get your shit together,” Art said, “We have that hearing tomorrow at the station and you better be prepared. I am not going down for shit that you did!”

It was then that Stiles realised that Art was a cop,- Jimmy’s partner, in fact. The recently familiar feeling of wanting to puke came back. He was in a whole lot of crap and if he didn’t make it through the next couple of hours then he might as well kiss his whole existence good-bye. Pretending to be a cop is a downright stupid thing to do, not to mention a huge felony. On the other hand he has people looking for him without knowing that it is him they are looking for just because he was born with his face, if _they_ found him, it would no doubt lead to his death.

His face wasn’t even something that was that special. If it was, Stiles would have never been single in high school. He would have lost his virginity right around the time any other normal guy had. Why did he have to be born with the face he had?

Maybe it wasn’t too late for him to escape. He has been here three hours and things have gone horribly.  He over-estimated his abilities because this is just too much man. Too frikken much.

Art stopped the car outside a house. Stiles was not sure where he was but clearly from the looks of things it seemed like it was his place, or well, Jimmy’s place, because Art was not making a move to get out the car and he was looking at Stiles as if he were meant to.

“I am fetching you and driving you to the station myself,” Art said. “So no funny business or otherwise you aren’t getting your money back, and I swear I will shoot you myself, Jim.”

Stiles just nodded and got out of the car.  There was no way he could run now, if he did then Art would hunt him down, he was sure of it. Stiles would just have to take his chances here and hope for the best.

He watches as Art drives away before walking up to the front door, groaning when he realises he doesn’t have any way to get into the house; until he remembers the keys that he found in Jimmy’s bag.  He tries the first one and then the second key but to no luck.

“Come on you stupid door! Open up!”  he said.

He tried the rest of the keys and to his luck none of them open the damn door. This was really just such a great day for him. Stiles wasn’t proud of what he did next, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He started picking the lock and it wasn’t long before he was stepping into the lavish home.

“Eureka!”

The house was dark as Stiles opened the door. “Hello?” he tried, “anybody home?”

He waited but he didn’t get any reply. As he made his way through the place, he noticed how lived in it had been.

The motels and the dingy apartments that Stiles lived in solely provided him with the bare necessities that he needed. He never had the extra room space. It was always just a place the size of a card board box. Stiles couldn’t believe how lavish the how was. It was in no way a mansion, but to him it felt like one. Exploring the house was so much fun. All the clothes Jimmy had were very professional and lacked any sense of excitement; though he sure had an awful lot of clothes for a dude. The bed felt so lovely. The bathroom looked amazing. Everything was just so cool.

Eventually the sound of his stomach grumbling made him realise that it had been hours since he ate and after everything that happened today, he sure hoped that Jimmy had some great food in his house.

He got to the refrigerator and saw a note that said, “See you Saturday, D.”

“Who the heck is D?” he mumbled as he opened the fridge to take out a beer and a pie that was in the fridge.  It wasn’t until he closed the fridge door that he noticed the photos on it.

There were tons of pictures of Jimmy with some guy in them. He didn’t look like he could be Jimmy’s brother but judging from the photos they clearly were very close. 

Stiles grabbed his food and beer and made his way to the sofa. His mind was still buzzing from everything that had happened tonight. He wouldn’t be able to sleep with everything that was going on. He leaned over to the side table next to the couch and saw that there was mail.

They were mostly bills or invitations to some type of thing. He then noticed one of letters. It had the same symbol on it as the identification card in Jimmy’s bag. He got up to go look for the identification card. He quickly found it in his bag and on his way back he spotted a room that he didn’t see. It wouldn’t have caught his attention but the door was slightly ajar.

The room looked like a study or sorts. He went for a closer inspection when he noticed that there was an open folder on the desk containing lots of pages with notes on them. It looked like a police report. This must have been the case that Art was talking about, the one with the hearing that’s happening tomorrow.

“Oh shit! I have hearing tomorrow,” Stiles said to himself. He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten about it already.

He quickly forgot about the key card and left it in the room as he collected all the files and notes and moved it to his place in the lounge. If he had any chance of finding some way out of this mess, Stiles would have to be prepared. He couldn’t have been more grateful for his photographic memory than he was at that very moment.

Stiles didn’t really know if he had photographic memory or not, it was just what everyone else had called it. He just knew that he could read over something once or look at something and then it always stuck with him.

He didn’t know how long he spent pouring over the notes and the detailed police report, all he knew was that he kept getting up to go to the bathroom and to make himself coffee. And it wasn’t that cheap coffee either.

Eventually he looked over at the clock and it read 7:30am. He had stayed up the whole night going over the notes that he had to prepare himself for the hearing today; and though he could recite the thing forward and backwards. He didn’t feel prepared enough. He still felt like he was missing such a huge gap.

Just then a phone went off. Stiles’ body immediately tensed up. He relaxed when he saw that it was his phone that had been ringing. It was Scott.

“Hey Scott,” he said.

“Hey Stiles,” Scott replied, “How are you? I’m just phoning to check up on you because I had no idea if you got in or not last night.”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that,” Stiles said, “I just didn’t want to bother you so late so I...uh, found myself a motel to crash at.”

“Okay,” Scott said, “Just wanted to check in, and next time don’t be scared to call. We should meet up today, okay?”

“Uh,” Stiles stammered, “I should be able to do tonight?”

“Cool. Text me where you are? Allison and I will pick you up later.”

“Cool,” Stiles replied, “Bye.”

“Bye.”

That was a bit awkward. Stiles was glad that after all these years Scott and Allison were still together. It made him jealous that he didn’t have that with someone. Stiles would usually wallow in self-pity but there was no time for that. His life was at stake. He would have to be very careful about what he did and what he said today.

Stiles wanted some background noise, he’d been sitting in silence for too long and it felt like he was going was insane listening to the sound of his own thoughts for so long. He couldn’t find the remote for the TV, so he begrudgingly got up and put it on manually.

He saw that there were a few home videos and he got an idea. He quickly made sure to find the remote for the DVD player and after a few minutes of struggling he eventually got it all sorted. It wasn’t long till he was looking at a home video rewinding and mimicking Jimmy’s mannerisms.

Stiles was watching Jimmy’s movements so intensely that he wasn’t paying attention to everything else that was going on in the video. He nearly choked on his coffee when he saw Jimmy lean in to kiss someone off camera. Just then Jimmy took the camera and turned it around to the person who was recording him. Stiles’ mouth dropped open when he saw that he person Jimmy kissed was the same person whose face was on the refrigerator next to Jimmy.

“Come on, Derek, don’t be shy,” Jimmy said, “Smile for the camera.”

“I don’t smile,” Derek said seriously before a mischievous smile slowly crept onto his face.

Stiles paused the video on Derek’s face. This was the D who was coming home on Saturday... well technically tomorrow. He swallowed. Stiles didn’t know how he was going to pretend to be in a relationship. He had never been in one. It was always just him and one night stands. He never got attached. He had no clue what he was going to do.

Lying to people and pretending to be Jimmy was complicated enough. Lying to Jimmy’s partner, of he-doesn’t-know-how-many years, was going to be impossible. Stiles swallowed heavily. He took a deep breath before he started rewinding the video and pressing play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews = love :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey  
> This chapter is focused on one part. I may have focused too much on using stuff from the episode of Orphan Black but don’t worry the subsequent chapters diverge and go onto their own storyline soon enough.   
> Also , if you aren’t watching Teen Wolf or Orphan Black then you lead a sad less awesome life :P  
> I want to thank my beta again. SO glad to call you a friend.

A phone went off.

Stiles quickly buttoned up the shirt he had put on and looked at which one of the phones was ringing. It wasn’t his. It wasn’t the one that Art had called him on either. It was Jimmy’s other phone.

_“Where are you? You were supposed to be at the meeting last night,”_ was all the text message said. It was an unknown number.

“Whoever you are, I am sorry but, I don’t have time for this right now,” he mumbled.

He walked over to the bathroom and gave himself one last look over in the mirror. He tried to copy Jimmy’s style in some of the photos he found on Jimmy’s phone and around the house. It wasn’t hard exactly the only thing he was worried about was whether he could pull it off or not. He was startled out of his musings by a loud bang on the door.

“Jimmy!” Art’s voice shouted, “Open up!”

Stiles sighed heavily as he made his way to the door to open up for the man.

“Jeez,” Stiles said changing his accent ever so slightly, “Ease up on the door man, I am here.”

“Just checking,” Art said eyeing him suspiciously, “Don’t want to take any risks... the last time you ditched my ass and left me in the lurch because you had to go somewhere. This time, I am making sure that you get to that hearing.”

“Well you can relax,” Stiles said walking to the kitchen, “it’s safe to remove the foot from your ass,”

He could sense Art’s eyes on him as he moved through the kitchen - watching his every movement.

“There’s something different about you,” Art said, “you seem less wound up.”

“Maybe because I finally managed to get away from your 21 questions last night,” Stiles said remembering how Jimmy interacted with his pursuers last night. He had to play him cool but not easy going, “You gonna stand here and ask me another 21 questions or can we go?”

“Are you ready?” Art asked, stepping aside so Stiles could go outside first.

“About as ready as I’ll ever be,” Stiles mumbled under his breath walking to Art’s car.

The car ride to the station was tense but thankfully he didn’t have to talk much because Art had put on the radio on route to the station. When they pulled up to the station Stiles suddenly felt like he wanted to regurgitate everything that he had for breakfast. The nerves had (finally) decided to kick in.

Stiles wasn’t really nervous of the police station itself. He had been to the one his father had worked at enough times to know that the police were merely people doing a job. There was nothing to fear really, but it didn’t reduce his anxiety. It was just another day where he pretended to be a police officer while trying not to slip up and reveal who he really was. What could go wrong?

“Fashionably late you call it?” an authoritative voice asked.

“He’s here lieutenant,” Art piped up. “It’s my fault. Had car trouble.”

“You get busy,” the lieutenant said to Art, “Detective, come with me...”

Stiles thought that he would have at least have had a few minutes to prepare himself, but he was wrong. The lieutenant led him to a room with a few people sitting around a table who were staring at him as he was about to enter.

It was in that moment that he started to get panicky. He wasn’t having a panic attack, it had been a while since he had one of those, but he could feel himself getting queasy.

“Stick to your statement and you will be fine,” the lieutenant said, looking at him.

Stiles breathed deeply. It didn’t really make the nerves in his stomach quell.

“Mind if I... uh, use the bathroom?” he piped up to the lieutenant.

“Quickly,” he warned, “Get yourself sorted.”

Stiles sped off, eager to escape the entire situation if only for a few minutes. He barely took two steps before he was interrupted by the lieutenant.

“Detective,” he said.

“Yeah,” Stiles replied anxiously.

“The bathroom is this way...”

“Right,” Stiles smiled weakly.

He felt like he was going to have breakdown. Everything he had studied and spent hours learning had decided to evaporate from his mind. He tried to recall what he had seen in the notes but nothing was coming back to him. This was bad. This was very bad. He walked into the bathroom and immediately started freaking out. What was he doing? This was all going awry! What had Jimmy gotten him into? Fuck.

Stiles didn’t know what he was going to do. There was no way out now. It was just then that he saw the container of hand wash...

“No Stiles,” he said to himself in the mirror, “You are better than that...”

His reflection then gave him this “Are you really though?” look.

He quickly unscrewed the hand wash from where it was lodged and began drinking some. He immediately gagged as the disgusting tasting fluid went down his throat. It took everything within him not to throw it all up right there.

He exited the bathroom to find that lieutenant waiting outside for him. They walked quickly to the boardroom where the hearing was about to take place. The doors were closed swiftly behind him. Now all he had to do was wait for the perfect timing before he decided to let loose.

“Alright, we’re gathered here for the statement of Officer Jimmy Childs to record his version of the line of duty shooting 07 October of this year; resulting in a civilian fatality, one Matt Daehler. In your own words please. Begin by stating your name,” the head inquirer said.

Stiles felt the weight of everything the man said. He merely kept quiet as he felt the contents of his stomach ready to come up at any moment.

“Any time, Detective?” another person inquired.

As soon as Stiles opened his mouth, it all came guzzling out of him and onto the boardroom table. Everyone quickly jumped back from the table hoping to avoid getting vomit on themselves. If he hadn’t just puked, he would have felt like he wanted to.

Well, that was one way of handling the situation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time to get to the hanky-panky. I hope all of the Sterek fans enjoy this. The story is about to get very interesting ;)   
> If the Derek/Stiles relationship feels like it’s missing something, that is intentional. I am building towards something. I don’t always give answers within two chapters of each other, it takes a while before the intent of something may be revealed but it will all make sense in due time. I really meant what I said when it was a slow build.
> 
> Warning: Although this story is rated as mature, the beginning part of the chapter ventures into the explicit rating.

The water was running down his naked body.

Stiles was standing under the spray of the shower. The hot water unwinding the tension he was holding in his body.

Trying to take over someone else’s life was not as easy as it seemed in the movies. There was so much that could go wrong at any moment. Just when everything seems to be under control a new issue or challenge comes up, barely giving one time to breathe and download the information they had been given.

He was never really able to stand under water for too long, 5 minutes in and it would always go cold. Also the water bill would be ridiculously high. He had been standing in the shower for 15 minutes already - just thinking about everything that was currently going on in his life. He was starting to get a headache from all of the thinking.

He climbed out of the shower, grabbing a pair of underwear to put on as he half-dried himself with a towel.

He was setting out his clothes on the bed for his meeting with Scott when he heard the sound of the front door being unlocked. Stiles froze. As far as he knew there were only two people who had a key, him and Jimmy’s partner Derek.  Now this was not ideal because he wasn’t ready to deal with Derek. He barely had time to accept what had happened today, and now he had to put up with this?

“Shit,” Stiles cursed. 

It vaguely occurred to him that it could very well be an intruder instead but that thought disappeared the moment he heard a name being called out.

“Jimmy?” the voice said.

Silence

“Jimmy?” the voice repeated coming closer.

Stiles quickly hid his duffle bag, managing to do so just in time before he saw the body of the man the voice was attached to.

Stiles felt his mouth dry up. The pictures did not do him any justice. Derek was absolutely stunning.

“Hi,” Derek said.

Stiles tried talking but it took him two times to clear his throat before he could talk.

 “Hey,” Stiles replied avoiding his eyes.

“Going somewhere?” he asked.

“Uh yeah... going out with Scott,” Stiles said.

“Scott?”

Crap.

“Yeah,” Stiles said, “He’s uh... a work friend. I’m going out with him and his wife, Allison, later tonight.”

“Okay,” he said eyeing Stiles suspiciously. Stiles felt very naked under his gaze.

“Weren’t you coming back over the weekend?” Stiles asked.

“Well I wanted to be here,” he said walking closer to Stiles. “So?”

“So?” Stiles quizzed looking at him. His breath might have hitched a little.

 “The hearing, how did it go?”

“I uh... I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t do it,” Stiles stammered walking past him trying to put a bit of gap between him and the tall, attractive man.

“You skipped it?” Derek inquired.

Stiles could swear he felt Derek’s breath on his bare back.

“I got sick to my stomach,” he said throwing in one of Jimmy’s lip biting mannerisms. “I basically puked on them.”

“Are you serious?” he asked not relenting on the gap between them.

“Yeah,” he laughed slightly. “Don’t worry, it’s all good!”

“All good?” he repeated, “Jimmy, what happened?”

“A lot...” Stiles answered, shifting uncomfortably.

“Yeah I know, but you’re...” he said eyeing Stiles.

 “I’m what?” he said lifting open the cupboard. He didn’t know why he just did that.

“Just... something is different...” Derek said, cocking his head to the side and staring at Stiles curiously and with a hint of suspicion.

Stiles needed to do something. Derek was well aware that something was different and he wasn’t going to let up. Stiles did the only thing that he could do. He wound his arms tightly around Derek’s neck and attacked his lips.

Derek was immediately caught off guard, not sure what to make of the man in his arms suddenly kissing him so passionately. It didn’t take long before Stiles felt Derek kissing him back as fervently, grabbing at his ass and slipping his hands inside the bands of Stiles’ underwear.

Stiles pulled off Derek’s jacket and started unbuckling his pants as they moved back towards the bedroom that they had come from. They were grabbing at each others’ bodies and palming each others’ erections along the way.

Stiles was turned on. He couldn’t lie. He’d messed around with other guys before but never gone the whole nine yards. If Stiles was being honest with himself then he had to admit that the thought of doing so scared him immensely. He was about to do some other serious stuff with another man...and not just any man but the man of the guy who had died and whom Stiles was no pretending to be.

If he stopped now, it would be over. Derek would know that something was up.  You don’t just spring sex on your partner then stop without having a legitimate reason. Derek was strong enough to break him like a twig, this wouldn’t end well for him to reveal everything now.

Clearly Stiles had been thinking loudly because Derek stopped, looking at him again with a cocked head, “What’s wrong?”

Stiles breathed heavily. He looked at the man in front of him.

There was such concern in his eyes when he’d asked if anything was wrong. Stiles felt himself become untied underneath his gaze. He felt like someone was looking at him, and not just at him, but his soul.

Stiles had never had anyone look at him like that. He was never one to be looked at with lust. Being in Derek’s arms, feeling the gentle stroking of his finger on his body; Stiles felt cared for.

 “Do you want to stop?” Derek said, “Because we can...”

Stiles looked at the man in front of him and made a decision. He leaned up to kiss the man gently on his lips, the hunger and urgency of their initial kiss returning with each minute that the kiss continued.

Derek hoisted him up allowing Stiles to wrap his legs around Derek as he kept walking them to the bedroom. It had been a while since Stiles had been intimate with someone, but with Derek it felt effortless.

He didn’t want to stop kissing him and everywhere Derek was holding onto him made him want to touch Derek even more. Eventually their fast and aggressive pace slowed down to a more erotic one. As Derek lay them down onto the bed Stiles’ erection was caught between their bodies. Derek slowly moved his mouth down Stiles’ body onto his nipples, swirling his tongue around the sensitive area before gently blowing on it. It sent shivers down Stiles’ body.

Stiles sat up, pulling Derek with him. He started kissing around Derek’s neck, pulling the remainder of Derek’s clothes off.

“Hold on quickly...” Stiles muttered, leaning over to the bed-stand pulling out a bottle of lube. Thank heavens he was an inquisitive person. Never in his life had been more grateful for his habit of snooping in draws. Stiles returned to kissing Derek, moving them onto kneeling positions on the bed, facing each other. He looked directly into Derek’s eyes and saw the lust behind them.

He was too horny to wait, grasping Derek’s erection and moving it to his own. He poured lube over both of their erections and started moving his hand. Slowly but surely they both started moving their bodies back and forth, gaining a steady rhythm as they moved in tandem. There had barely been a single groan uttered between them the entire time, just the sounds of their kisses and gasps. However, that changed as Stiles moved his hand faster over their slick cocks. Stiles was the first to groan and it only seemed to turn Derek on more, biting Stiles’ neck in response.

It didn’t take much longer before Stiles came so hard that he spilled some of himself all over Derek’s body. Apparently this was all it took to send Derek over the edge as he came all over Stiles’ abdomen and hands which were still moving gently over both of their members.

It was just the sounds of their heavy breathing that could be heard bouncing around the bedroom walls as they lay next to each other, sated. It took a while before either of them could move or were willing to.

 Derek leaned over and kissed Stiles again, this time more gently but still with so much lust. It was as if he had just rediscovered something good, he had just forgotten exactly how good it was.

Stiles rolled over onto his side facing Derek. Derek was looking at him and leaned over to place a kiss on his lips. “That was nice...”

“It was,” Stiles replied as Derek stroked his skin.

Suddenly Derek’s hand stopped dead in its track on Stiles skin.

“What?” Stiles said. “What’s wrong?”

He noticed how intently Derek was looking at him, that suspicious look suddenly returning.

“Who are you?” Derek asked.

Stiles remained quiet.

“Would you please be so kind as to tell me who you are?”

 Stiles’ whole body went cold. He was busted. He knew it and, obviously, so did Derek.

“I am not going to hurt you... yet, but I do expect you to tell me who you are. Meet me in the kitchen in 10 minutes or I’ll pull you out of this room myself.”

His mind was running the gamut of how to get out of this situation. He could pretend that he didn’t know what Derek was talking about but then that was going to require him to perform his Jimmy routine and right now he wasn’t sure if he could pull off a convincing enough act.

Stiles got up slowly and so did Derek. He quickly went into the bathroom to wipe the remains of their sexual rendezvous before he pulled on a pair of pants.

Derek seemed to know enough to figure out that Stiles wouldn’t run so he let Stiles be. Stiles didn’t know how long he spent fumbling around in the room. He spent most of his time standing still and zoning out, trying to figure out what he was going to say. Eventually Stiles came out of the room to see Derek sitting down at the table, a cup of coffee in hand. A cup had been placed on the table opposite Derek for Stiles as well.

He knew that he would have to explain himself so he just started talking.

“I’m Stiles. I got in to the city last night. I was searching for the nearest motel and as I got up Jimmy collided into me. I had no clue who he was or why we looked identical but he had a bag with him and he said that he didn’t have time to explain but that everything I needed to know was in the bag. He was being chased. I don’t know by whom but he was in a rush. He pulled me along with him - even if he didn’t I still would have followed him so I could find out how we looked alike. We were being shot at and I thought that the police would have come but no one did...”

Stiles finally chose that moment to steal a glance at Derek. His face was hard to read but that was probably because he was listening so intently.

“They chased us into an abandoned building where we eventually found a place to hide. Jimmy made sure that I was able to hide away in a container and told me that as soon as I found a safe enough place I should open the bag and then find this place. Jimmy knew they were coming for him. He was very calm about it all.  He told me that I needed to survive otherwise it would all be over. I wasn’t sure what he meant... I’m still not sure what he meant.” Stiles paused to take a sip from his coffee, “He was surrounded by 10 men in black suits all aiming their guns at him, while he was unarmed. He was talking to someone he knew or was at least familiar with, someone named Dylan. He kept trying to pry information from Jimmy about where the bag was. This Dylan guy knew that Jimmy wasn’t going to give up the location so he killed him.”

Stiles had to stop to look at Derek. Nothing on his face was showing. Stiles was worried because here he was, telling the guy that his partner was dead. It was certainly not an ideal situation.

Silence rang on.  Stiles wasn’t sure if he should reveal any more to the guy, but apparently that was not an option because Stiles apparently couldn’t keep a secret.

“What is it?” Derek asked.

“Huh?”

“You’re tapping your feet nervously, you’re fidgeting and you’re biting your lip...”

“Who says I can’t be tapping my foot because you make me nervous? Also, I always fidget and the biting my lip thing is a habit that I picked up recently.”

Stiles let the implication of that last bit hang in the air. 

“I know how to read people,” Derek said. “I don’t like to do it often because people are sometimes so unaware of what they are putting out there.”

“You’ve got a sixth sense or something?” Stiles said mockingly.

“No,” Derek replied without humour. “I have been trained to know when someone is keeping information from me and you, Stiles... you are keeping information from me. So spill.”

Stiles was annoyed.  He hated being so easy to read. His mom knew exactly what was going on with him without ever having to ask him because she had known how to read him too.

“The thing is that... Dylan looks like us,” Stiles said. “He looks like Jimmy and I do. I don’t know how or what exactly is going on but that is all I know.”

Now any normal person would have had some type of reaction to that new piece of information. Called him a liar or something or maybe even hit him, but Derek did nothing. Derek was quiet - too quiet. It was as if he wasn’t surprised by the news.

“I assume that you know more than I do because you don’t look surprised at what I just said...”

Stiles had given Derek the perfect opportunity to open up but... nothing. Silence continued to ring on between the two of them. Stiles was grateful that his phone then chose the most opportune time to go off.  He saw that he got a text message from Scott but that it was only to confirm that they were going out. Stiles started texting a reply when suddenly his phone was taken out of his hands.

“Uh,” Stiles said slightly annoyed, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Stopping you from making any further mistakes,” Derek said.

“Give me back my phone,” Stiles said. “You’ve been sitting there in utter silence and now you want to talk? You can’t tell me what to do and you have no right to take my phone away. I don’t do awkward silences well. So either you’re going to give it back to me and tell me what the hell is going on or I leave and skip off to some other town where I can happily go on with my existence and pretend like I never came here.”

Stiles had to admit that it felt really good to be himself finally. After being Jimmy for a day, he was already over it. It was exhausting. He had to constantly edit himself and be mindful of his mannerisms and what he said and what he did; it all was too damn much. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“We both know that that is not an option for you,” Derek warned.

Stiles didn’t want to acknowledge that he was right so he just kept glaring at Derek expectedly, waiting for the return of his phone. Derek eventually relented and returned the phone to Stiles.

“So,” Stiles started, “Would you please tell me what exactly is going on?”

Stiles barely finished his sentence before he was knocked out cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things are going to be getting very interesting in coming chapters so I hope you continue on this journey with me.  
> Again thanks to my lovely editor who had a mammoth of an assignment ahead of her with this chapter. I’m so fortunate that you are there to help me. She really had to work very hard on this chapter! It was not in the best possible shape but after seeing what her thoughts and comments were I reworked it and the story only benefited from it.


	5. Chapter 5

The pain he felt was excruciating. He thought his head would explode. Just then it all started coming back to him. He had been standing in the kitchen looking at Derek when he was suddenly knocked out.

Stiles could hear muffled voices around him. He hadn’t groaned or made any sudden movements that would have indicated that he was awake but as soon as his senses became clearer he tried to listen into what was happening around him.

There were definitely quite a few people around him, it wasn’t hard to discern. His time being a bartender had allowed him the ability to gauge the sound volume in correlation to the number of people present. Also he was bound; and tightly from what he could tell. He was either still in the house or he had been moved. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he was definitely in a house.

“...one got a better idea of what we should do with him?” a voice asked.

“Killing him is not an option...” a voice said.

“Oh gee do we really have to get sentimental about this?” someone sassed.

“Who’s to say that he isn’t the one who killed Jimmy?” another voice asked

“Because he was a cop and I am barely able to defend myself. Chances are that he would have killed me had we gotten into a fight,” Stiles said, slowly rolling his head up to the very silent room. Stiles tried opening his eyes but realised that he was blindfolded. Great.

“Our guest is awake...” a man said.

“How do we know that you aren’t just making this up?” a voice asked.

“You don’t,” Stiles said. “Which is why I assume I am tied up and blindfolded while approximately 6 or 7 people I guess are discussing what to do with me?”

“You do realise that because you guessed correctly it just makes you look more suspicious, right?” a voice replied snidely.

“I already wasn’t innocent-looking because if I were then I wouldn’t have been here in the first place,” Stiles replied. “I would be back in the kitchen having a conversation with Derek.”

“The one where you were spinning some bullshit lie?” a voice said harshly.

Stiles groaned - they had listened in on the conversation that he was having with Derek. At least that saved him the time of having to re-explain everything.

“The one where I was waiting for someone to tell me what the hell is going on! I got onto a train to visit a friend,” Stiles started, “and instead I end up in some Jason Bourne type of shit where I am involved in a gun chase for my life. I meet a fucking stranger who looks exactly like me yet I am just supposed to pretend like it’s nothing huge. Then another look-a-like fucking kills the first look-a-like leaving me even more confused. Not only do I not get any time to process all of this crap, I am thrown into living someone else’s life and I can barely survive that for a day. So if no one wants to tell me what the hell is going on then _please_ just put me on a train and send me packing.”

Stiles was breathing as if he had just run a marathon. He had just unintentionally repeated everything that they already knew because he was nervous and when he gets nervous he tends to ramble. This was so not his week.

The room was silent. Stiles pictured that they were looking at each other judging him and his sanity.

It had been a while since he’s done the nervous rambling thing. The last time he did that was probably in his high school days, before his dad died. It was a habit he forgot he had.

Just then Stiles felt the blindfold disappear from his face and himself being untied.

It took him a while to adjust to everything within the room. He was not prepared for the site that awaited him. At this stage, things were already complicated; now they got Freud complicated.

Stiles nodded. He just sat in silence and nodded.

“Well?” Derek prodded.

“Give me moment,” he said through his teeth.

“We shouldn’t have bombarded him like this,” the female said. “It might be too much for his brain to comprehend.”

Stiles stayed silent. He didn’t know what to say.

In the room there were three other versions of him. All of them like him but not. Stiles was rarely flabbergasted but this was one of those moments. He really had nothing to say.

“So...” he said after an eternity’s silence, “I’m Stiles.”

“What’s a Stiles?” the female sneered.

“I know he’s Derek,” Stiles continued acknowledge nodding his head in Derek’s direction, “and the rest of you are Matthew, Michael, Luke, John and Mary?”

“I like this one,” a man laughed, “I don’t want to kill him anymore.”

“I’m glad,” Stiles said, “and you are?”

“Peter,” the man said, “though just because I don’t want to kill you, doesn’t mean that I won’t.” 

“Noted,” I smiled, humourlessly.

“I’m Stuart,” the look-a-like nearest to Peter voiced, “the one with the glasses. The female with her arms crossed is Lydia, and then nearest to her is Storm - the temperamental one - then the dude near to Derek is Isaac and nearest him is Stephen - the average one.”

“I’m sorry,” Stiles burst out laughing, “but all your names start with a St...”

“So does yours, genius,” Peter said.

That was enough to shut Stiles up.

“Apparently it had to do something regarding numbering the clones.” Stuart said as he pushed his glasses up.

“I’m sorry, did you just say _clone_?”

“Jeez, apparently this one is slow on the uptake,” Peter scoffed.

“Hey, how would you like waking up in room full of look-a-likes and their bodyguards?”

“How do you know that they are our bodyguards?” Storm said accusingly.

“Take it down a notch, Hulk,” Stiles said.

It was such a weird moment for him. He’d never been an aggressive guy but looking at the dude that they called Storm showed him how he would be as one. He always used to day-dream about what having an identical twin would be like. It was such an interesting thing to him. Here you are, presented with someone who looks identical to you in each and every way and yet they are nothing like you. All the look-a-likes in the room were like that. He got to see how he would’ve turned out if he hadn’t lived the life he had. The thought of that made him feel a pang in the pit of his stomach but he wasn’t sure why.

 “My father used to be a cop,” he said, continuing, “He taught me how to read a room. It doesn’t take a detective to figure out that the people hovering so close to each of the... uh... clones... are the bodyguards. Are all of you so tightly wound?”

“He definitely is a chatty one,” Stuart commented to Peter, causing him to laugh.

“I’m right here. I can see you,” Stiles commented, “Though, since I’m the chatty one, how long have the two of you been sleeping together?”

“Now I definitely want to kill him,” Peter retorted monotonously.

“That’s irrelevant as to why we’re here,” Derek interrupted shifting uncomfortably, “We’ve got questions that need answering, so buck up Stiles.”

Stiles swallowed. It was crunch time.

“We know that you are awkward and definitely too honest and that you talk a lot...”

“Geez, lay it on me why don’t you.”

“...which has basically showed us that there is no way that you could’ve killed Jimmy,” Derek continued ignoring Stiles’ comment. “So where’s your handler?”

“My what?” Stiles replied.

“Your handler? Also known as your bodyguard?”

“I’ve never had one...”

Everyone in the room exchanged looks with each other.

“That can’t be,” Lydia replied, “the organisation has made sure that each and every one of the clones had a handler. We may come into the clones’ lives at different points but the organisation has always been aware of all of the clones.”

“Well sorry to disappoint you, Miss Know-It-All, but alas after I graduated early I got the hell out of my town and never looked back.”

The Lydia person just glared at him - talk about an Ice-Queen.

 “How about someone who was really close to you?” Stephen offered.

“What do you mean?”

“Basically,” Stuart interrupted, “is there anyone in your life who always seems to be by your side and who you’ve been slowly forming feelings for over time?”

Immediately a picture of someone popped into his mind but Stiles quickly removed the thought from his mind before anyone noticed that his thoughts had wandered, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“We all fell for these people first,” Stephen continued signalling to their bodyguards. “They were strangers to us, secretly working for the organisation, who we got to know and fell in love with. Eventually they felt the same which prompted them to tell us the truth, revealing to us that they worked for the organisation.”

“That is... uh,” Stiles fumbled.

“Messed up?” Peter suggested. “Ridiculous? Out of the realm of being plausible that all of the bodyguards present were actually human enough to fall for the people they were supposed to be manipulating for the gain of some company?”

“Yes!”

“Tell me about it...” Stuart said rolling his eyes.

“So _all_ of you are together?” Stiles questioned.

“Most of us, not all...” Peter said.

Everyone except Stiles noticed how slightly uncomfortable Derek looked at the mention of that.

“So it’s just been you?” Isaac asked.

“Me, Myself and I,” Stiles answered. 

“It means that he isn’t on their radar yet,” Derek said, “or they’ve had him on the radar but just lost him.”

“He could be our way to ending this...” Storm said.

“Way to ending what?” Stiles asked.

They all looked at each other.

“I think that I actually have the right to finally know what the hell is going on,” Stiles said agitated.

All the men turned to look at Lydia. She gave them an exasperated look before sighing and then recounting everything.

“The organisation we’ve been working for is the same organisation that has been hunting down clones.” Lydia said. “They’ve been running tests on the clones and initially we thought it was just for scientific exploration but we found out that they’ve been harvesting the clones’ organs. Eventually there comes a time when we’ve decided whether to let the clones we’ve been protecting die or escape. So now they’ve created this division solely for the purpose of hunting ‘the runaways’. Jimmy was infiltrating the organisation to get information that could help us bring them down for good. We would then have enough information that we could leak to the media; eventually allowing us to live freely.”

Stiles was dumbfounded by how big and complicated this whole situation was. He had no clue that he was getting involved in such an intricate plot.  

“Jimmy was the one who brought us all together,” the average one, Stephen, piped up.

Stiles felt overwhelmed but he was able to understand everything that they were saying.

 “Jimmy’s position as a cop allowed us to have access to information that we might usually struggle gaining access to.” Stuart said.

“Which is why he said that it was important for me to protect the bag he gave me,” Stiles said acknowledging everything they had said.

Derek came forward and put the bag on top of the table in front of Stiles. Stiles would have been upset that he went through his stuff but they had just as much a claim to it as he did.

“I rounded up all of the stuff,” Derek started, “Some of which you carelessly left lying around.”

“How the heck was I supposed to know that they were important?” Stiles retorted.

Stuart and Peter rolled their eyes simultaneously.

“In it were the passports that he had made for the clones, the money, which I’ve divided equally amongst everyone, the identification card he managed to get out of the evidence locker from the Matt Daehler case, his phone and the phone he used for his contact.”

“Contact?” Storm said, “Contact for what?”

“He had a contact that was supplying him with information. That was how he knew about Matt Daehler working for the organisation,” Derek said.

“How do you know all of this?” Stiles couldn’t help but ask.

“Because it was our operation,” Derek said, “We all have our roles to play this.”

Stiles saw the sadness that lingered in Derek’s eyes as he spoke about Jimmy.

“We all have to do what we have to do to get the job done.”

Stiles felt a pang at that. It felt like he was specifically referring to the escapade in the sheets earlier. He was just working Stiles over. That was all it was. Stiles shouldn’t have been offended by that but he was. He wasn’t sure why but he was clearly forming an attachment to someone he shouldn’t have been.

“What about the keys?” Stiles asked.

Derek looked at him with a confused look.

“There was a set of keys in the bag,” Stiles said, “It looked like something that was from a safety deposit boxes or something...”

“Jimmy didn’t mention anything about keys?” Stiles pressed.

Everyone was looking at Stiles expectedly. He had just unveiled something that even Derek hadn’t known about.

“Maybe that was why they were hunting him...” Storm said. “They were after the keys and what it leads to?”

“Do you know where the keys are?” Isaac asked.

“Where’s my bag?” Stiles asked looking at Derek expectedly.

Derek went over and pulled Stiles’ bag from the corner of the room.

“I had to hide it in the least expected place possible so that if they took everything like Derek had,” Stiles said eyeing Derek, “then I would at least still have something that they needed.”

Stiles was scouting in the deep depths of his bag. He hid it away in something that was sentimental to him. To everyone else it looked just like some random sea shell but to him it was the sea shell his mother gave him. The day before she landed in hospital they had gone to the beach and were walking around collecting sea shells for his art project. His mother had let him do most of the searching and collecting of the sea shells, helping every so often but there was one that he kept. She found two identical sea shells and she gave one to him and kept the other. He remembered exactly what she told him when she gave it to him:

_“No matter where you are, if you have this with you then I will always be with you, by your side. Promise me that whenever you’re sad or hurt, and I’m not there to help, that you will always remember that I love you and I will always do my best to protect you, Stiles. Always.”_

Stiles had to hold his composure as he looked at the shell, it was the first time he had ever let anyone see the one thing that meant the world to him. He tilted the shell and a set of keys came rushing out and into his waiting hand. It wasn’t just one key but five individual ones. As he looked at it in his hand he got an idea. He separated the keys from the holder and threw one to each clone.

Once they had all caught their keys Stiles noted that there were only two left. He took off one and threw it to Derek.

“I’m sure that he wouldn’t have minded you having a key,” Stiles said. “We may not know what the keys are for yet but they definitely seem important. If they happen to get one of our keys then it means that they still would have to search for the rest. Having them all in one place is just asking for trouble.”

Just as Stiles finished his sentence, the unthinkable happened.

Everyone looked in horror as Stiles’ body suddenly fell to the ground. No one knew what happened.

Derek ran over to over Stiles and tried to feel for a pulse but there was nothing.

Everything in him went cold when he realised that Stiles wasn’t breathing.

Stiles was dead.

Everyone was either shocked or confused, looking around the house as if something could clue them in to what had happened.

Immediately Peter noticed a red dot over Derek’s heart. Acting on instinct, Peter ran over to tackle Derek to the ground. He managed to save Derek in the nick of time as a bullet soared through the window and hit the spot where he had been only seconds ago.

Everything was deadly quiet for a second before all hell broke loose.

“Everybody move! NOW!” Storm shouted as bullets started pouring down on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It pained me to do that to Stiles but it was necessary because it pushes the story forward. I am working furiously on more chapters; so don't worry, all will be revealed eventually so stay tuned!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are still with me after how cruel I was during the last chapter. I have a surprise for you during the next chapter. Writing this has been so much fun and such a surprise for me. I hope you are enjoying it.

Stuart couldn’t believe what happened.

That frenetic dude was just busy throwing them each a key one minute and the next he suddenly fell to the ground.

Derek had run over to see what the hell had happened when suddenly the next thing he knew Peter was tackling Derek to the ground, saving him in the nick of time as a bullet soared through the window and hit the spot where Derek had been kneeling over Stiles’ body.

“Everybody move! NOW!” Storm had shouted, followed by the sound of gunfire.

“We’ve got to get to the tunnels!” Storm continued.

Stuart always thought that Storm was a bit too intense, installing tunnels out of his house so that in case anything happened they had an escape route. It was like old-senile-man crazy. Every time they had to meet up, they always had to enter from the tunnels as to avoid any chance of others noticing. It used to annoy Stuart.

Stuart had never been more grateful for Storm’s meticulousness than in this moment.

He was about to move towards the other room that led to the tunnels when he saw that guns were slowly ascending on them. Someone was aiming a gun at where Peter and Derek were. Stuart had to act quickly.

He swiftly pulled his out his side arm, a gift from Peter, aimed it at the only part of the shooter he could see - then pulled the trigger. He hit his intended target causing the man to let go of his gun and retreat to safety. Stuart moved swiftly to see if Peter was okay, when he saw that there were more people coming. This was not going well.

“Peter!” he shouted. “We have to go now!”

He missed what had happened between Peter and Derek because Derek was hunching over Stiles’ body. Only when he got to them did he see that Derek was busy searching for something.  The poor kid’s dead body had to be lifted for Derek to get his hands on the keys.

“Come on, Derek!” Peter was shouting. “There is nothing you can do for the boy; we _have_ to leave him, we _have_ to get going otherwise we’ll be dead in no time.”

“Stuart, Peter and Derek,” Storm shouted from the room as he was firing his weapon at the attackers. “Hurry up or we leave without you!”

Stuart ran over to where Storm was as he waited for Peter and Derek to join them. Stuart and Storm were both busy firing at oncoming attackers as Peter and Derek made their way across the room, taking care to avoid any shots. As soon as they got into the room a smoke grenade went off in the lounge making it impossible to see. They quickly managed to get to the tunnel that was behind a hydraulic-powered bookshelf.

It was a cliché, but that was why Storm had it. He said that people wouldn’t really think that anyone would put something like it in their home so that is what he and Lydia did. He had gotten private contractors to build the tunnels and the house. He was grateful for his time in the special ops because he had made connections and people had owed him favours.  Storm was glad he called in the favours to set up the passages. It was impossible mission to get it all done – especially since it had to be done in secret.

 Lydia initially fumed over it, but in the end she had relented when she realised his intention behind it. He was building them their dream home and for Storm, that included having his family protected. She couldn’t exactly complain about him wanting to be extra cautious. He more than made up for the hassle when he gave her permission to decorate their newly built house to her content. He was smart enough to know that if you wanted to keep your wife happy, you allow her a few indulgences. Storm loved Lydia so much that he didn’t mind.

“We don’t have much time,” Storm said when they met up with everyone else underground. “We’re going to split and go to the safe houses...”

They all just nodded in agreement.

“Everything we need is in the bags in our car and the passports that Derek gave us...” Peter said, giving Derek a quick glance, “We’ll take Derek along with us and we will contact each other on the secure line when we get there.”

“I will try to set up a private server for us to communicate on,” Stuart added, “It’ll reduce the chances of us being spied on.”

“I don’t want to be the one to ask this,” Stephen started, “but I will be. How did they know where we were?”

“We’re always careful,” Isaac started. “There was no way it happened to be a fluke that on the same night we bring a new clone in that-”

“It wasn’t Stiles,” Derek said cutting him off.

“How sure are you?” Stephen demanded.

“I knocked him out when we were at Derek’s,” Peter started, “There was no way that he could have communicated with them...”

“...unless he had some device on him that could have signalled to the organisation,” Lydia countered.

“So you’re saying the whole being clueless thing was an act?” Stuart questioned.

“Even I have to admit that that’s taking things to a whole new level of crazy,” Peter said.

“We don’t have time for this,” Storm interrupted.

It had been clear that throughout the whole exchange that he was getting antsy just standing around.

“We gotta go,” Stuart said, “We can talk about this later. Agreed?”

Everyone nodded before separating into the different directions of the tunnel that they had used when they initially entered Storm’s house.

“Good luck,” Storm said before they were all gone and on their way to safety.

* * *

“How far out are we?” Stuart questioned.

“About 5 miles...” Peter commented.

“Shit,” he said noticing Peter’s arm, “You’re bleeding!”

“It’s just a flesh wound nothing serious,” Peter smirked.

“What?” Stuart said looking at him.

“The look of concern on your face,” Peter smiled, “It’s cute.”

Stuart reached over and gripped the wound hard enough to make Peter swerve the car a bit.

“Ouch,” Peter moaned, “What was that for?”

“For saying I look cute,” Stuart said, leaning over to give him a kiss.

Peter tilted his head, leaning into the kiss; it continued for so long that the car ended up swerving again. It was easy for Peter to get swept away in the intimate moments he had with Stuart. He never intended for anything to happen between Stuart and himself, but in a rare moment when Stuart had let his guard down to give Peter the chance to see who he really was, he couldn’t help but feel something. He had swooped in for a kiss then and never looked back.

“I’m going to make you pay for that later,” Peter winked.

“Not if I make you pay first,” Stuart quipped.

Just then Derek decided to clear his throat extremely loudly, “I’m still in the car.”

“And?” Peter said, glaring at Derek in the rear view mirror.

Derek kept quiet.

To say that things were tense in the car was an understatement. Someone had just died in front of their eyes. It happened so quickly that they barely had a chance to register it. They still weren’t sure what had happened. When Derek inspected the body there hadn’t been any blood. Stiles was just lying on the floor, lacking a pulse.

Derek had been very quiet in the back seat. He was usually a man of few words but it felt like he was being even quieter. They had been driving for about 20 minutes in silence.

They arrived at the safe house 5 minutes later. Derek and Peter went off to scout around the grounds while Stuart went in to unlock the house and switch on the power. It didn’t take long before Derek and Peter came back into the house carrying the rest of the stuff that they needed.

The safe house was actually a cabin in the woods that Peter owned. It wasn’t too far removed from the city and it allowed them the anonymity that they needed. Apparently he had inherited it from a family member or something.

“Do you have the server up yet?” Derek questioned.

“Dude, I’m a tech genius not a miracle worker,” Stuart retorted, “It may take me some time to sort it out.”

“Wake me up when you do,” he said, “I’m off to go catch some sleep.”

Derek stalked off grabbing his bags and the seashell he had previously placed on the counter. He had grabbed it after Peter tackled him to the ground when he was trying to wake Stiles up. Peter was busy working on the fire and chatting with Stuart, all the while watching his nephew.

Stuart looked up over his glasses and saw that Peter was watching Derek as he left the room. His eyes locked with Peter’s once Derek left the room, catching the concern in them. He was the only one left to look after his nephew after the rest of their family had died in a terrible fire. He had been deployed overseas when he got the call about his family.

“Do you know where the first-aid kit is?” Stuart asked.

Peter told him where in the kitchen to find it and when Stuart returned, he saw that Peter had set up cushions for them on the floor in front of the fire. They sat down before Stuart forced Peter to remove his shirt so he could clean up the wound from the gun fight earlier tonight.

“Do you want it to get infected?” Stuart said, giving him an annoyed look.

“Fine,” Peter huffed, rolling his eyes.

Stuart’s breath always hitched a little when he saw Peter’s body.

He was always aware of how attractive the older man was, even when he was facing his depression and the ache from losing his mother to cancer. Everything in his life had felt empty. He was spiralling out of control and he didn’t know how he was going to get out of it. It was when he was at his darkest that Peter came to the rescue. He didn’t see the beauty in anything or anyone, except for Peter. The guy was initially just his mother’s bodyguard, Stuart had no clue just how much he would grow to become attached to the man in the end.

Peter let Stuart work in silence as he cleaned the wound. Stuart couldn’t help but steal glances at the man as he worked.

“I see the concern that you have for him,” Stuart said.

Peter just rolled his eyes.

“It’s not a bad thing that you show that you care,” Stuart huffed.

“He’s had a rough time. In the span of a couple of hours he finds out that not only was the guy he had once loved killed, but so was the poor kid who innocently stumbled into this mess of a situation,” Peter said looking at Stuart as he worked, “Derek feels guilty because he wasn’t able to save them...”

“It isn’t his fault,” Stuart said, “He shouldn’t feel guilty.”

“We both know that and so does he, deep down, but it doesn’t stop him from feeling that way.”

“Did you see how he shifted when you answered Stiles question about whether we were all in relationships with our bodyguards?” Stuart asked.

“I thought I was the only one,” Peter started. “It wasn’t easy for him. It’s been almost, what? A year? Since they chose to end the relationship? It hurt Derek.  He felt guilty because to him he felt like had failed Jimmy. I could see how he was hurting... but he didn’t stop caring for him though. I think there was a part that still loved him, not as much as what he used to but it was an ache that never dulled. Even I was willing to give you up when I told you because I knew that by telling you I had been place by the organisation would mean that there was a chance you would reject me. Even if you did, I wouldn’t have stopped protecting you.”

“Which is how Derek must have felt,” Stuart said.

“He allowed himself to be Jimmy’s handler because that was what Jimmy wanted,” Peter said. “The poor kid even put everything on the line to bring us together to from our Clone Club.”

Stuart laughed silently at the ‘Clone Club’ title as he bandaged the wound.

“I just think that maybe he needs someone to talk to,” Stuart offered.

“I doubt that would help,” Peter countered, “Hale men often don’t talk about the pain we experience because if we let ourselves relive it, it might just destroy our resolve to keep moving on. If we lose that resolve then the pain we feel may severely incapacitate us.”

Stuart understood exactly what Peter was talking. The difficulty that Peter faced in opening up to him had nearly derailed their relationship. Stuart was never really one to pry but he just wanted Peter to open up to him and let him love him. It took a while but when he found out about the fire that took almost all of Peter’s family, he understood why the man had kept it to himself for so long.

“I just really wished that he didn’t have to feel the guilt about Jimmy and Stiles,” Peter said eventually. “Otherwise, it might eat him up.”

Stuart didn’t respond to that but instead moved in closer, hugging Peter tightly, and nuzzling his neck.

“Oh, come on,” Peter sighed, rolling his eyes.

Intimate affection was not something they did very often.

Stuart squeezed on the wounded arm slightly causing Peter to yelp.

“Don’t be a dick,” Stuart said, giving Peter a sincere look.

Peter looked at the young man and saw the look in his eyes. He moved Stuart on to his lap with Stuart’s knees on either side of his body. Stuart felt hot under Peter’s gaze so he looked down instead. He felt Peter’s hands slowly move up his body to his neck where he took Stuarts face into his hands. It forced Stuart to lift up his head, pushing back his glasses while Peter looked at him.

“I’m sorry,” Peter said earnestly, looking the young man in the eyes before leaning in to give him a very gentle kiss, “I love you.”

Stuart felt himself smile, “I love you, too.”

They sat like that on the floor in front the fire place for a while. Not really saying anything just breathing and enjoying the comfortable silence. After all of the intense drama they had survived through in their lives, the quiet moments were a gift.

They occasionally got into kissing marathons but it never went anywhere too far because Stuart had to eventually get back to working on setting up their server. If he had a choice, he would have chosen to make love to Peter right there in front of the fire place but sometimes the needs of many outweigh the needs of a few.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! It's the beta here. Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out, I had some RL things going on. Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Reviews = love ♥


	7. Chapter 7

He wasn’t sure what happened. He was just having a normal conversation with... well it wasn’t actually a normal conversation. He seriously doubted that talking to a room of clones and their bodyguards was in anyway normal but one minute he was just talking to them and the next he was...

He was...

Where was he?

He was lying on a coroner’s table tied up.

Stiles was very confused about what was going on and he was getting more than slightly annoyed with that. He couldn’t see what was happening and he couldn’t speak because his mouth had been gagged. He tried thrashing around trying to get loose but it was pointless, he was not going anywhere.

“Ah, our captive is awake I see...” a voice said.

Stiles’ body went cold. He didn’t know that there was someone else in the room. Someone had been watching him struggle and to make matters worse it was a voice he’d heard before.

“Welcome, clone.” Dylan said, vindictively.

Stiles started shouting but he couldn’t get a word out behind the gag.

“Oh, so you have something to say,” Dylan smiled eagerly as grabbed onto Stiles’ face roughly.

He leaned in closer, putting his hand behind his ear as if he was listening. Stiles shouted again.

 “Sorry,” he said psychotically, “I forgot you were gagged. Here let me help with that... maybe this will help you speak clearer.”

Stiles saw Dylan take a scalpel from the tray beside his head, slowly bringing it closer to Stiles’ body. Stiles’ shout became screams of agony as he felt the medical instruments pierce the skin on his arm. The tears were pouring out of Stiles’ eyes. Fear sitting like an elephant on his chest, multiplying tenfold every second he was alone with the psychopath.

Luckily someone interrupted them and Stiles’ couldn’t be more grateful.

“Sir!” a voice said. “Are you sure you're meant to be doing that?”

Stiles hadn’t realised that there had been another person in the room.

“Are you questioning me?” the psychopath asked.

“No, Sir,” the voice said.

“Then just shut up and do as you’re told.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Stiles wasn’t sure but he swore that the voice sounded familiar. He was sure that he had heard the man’s voice somewhere before; it was definitely the voice of the person who was with him when Dylan killed Jimmy. Even more than that, to Stiles it sounded a little like Scott’s voice but how did that make any sense?

The madman returned his attention to Stiles. Stiles felt his body grow cold.

“Now where were we?” Dylan said, bringing the scalpel to Stiles’ arm.

Stiles screamed and screamed and screamed until his voice went hoarse. The tears just kept on rolling down, staining his face.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” a female voice screamed at the madman as she came rushing into the room.

“Don’t worry, Doc,” Dylan said, “I’m just getting acquainted with my little friend here.”

“And you?” she said shouting at the other man, “How could you let him do this?”

The other man stuttered.

“Oh, like he could’ve done anything to stop me, Doc.” 

“They may be play toys to you but these are actual people with lives,” she said, fixing her attention on the deranged thing. “What they have to endure is more than enough; they do not require you to torture them further.”

“Careful, Doc,” Dylan said, “or I might actually believe that you care for these things.”

“Do you want me to report you to Sergeant Argent and suggest that it be time for a decommissioning?” she asked.

“Watch your mouth you, bitch,” he shouted. “Don’t threaten me!”

“You would know if I were threatening you dear...” she said, not in the least bit intimidated by the psycho.

The thing remained silent, glaring at her.

“You are dismissed,” she said. “Both of you.”

Stiles had to admit that he was impressed. This lady, whoever she was, had balls. Clearly she was someone that was not to be messed with but Stiles wasn’t sure if he should be even more scared of her or not. If she had the power to silence a psycho like Dylan, then clearly this was not going to end well for Stiles.

He heard the sound of Dylan and the other man leaving the room, leaving Stiles and the unknown woman alone in the room.

She walked closer to where he was lying and the fear that had briefly disappeared, returned with a vengeance. Stiles closed his eyes, not wanting to allow her the opportunity to see the fear in his eyes. He could feel her move around him.

His heart was pounding a mile a minute and he was sure that she was able to hear it. His hyper-awareness in the situation did not help either. His breathing was becoming erratic and it showed no signs of slowing down. It actually felt like it was picking up. Stiles could feel his hands start to tremble and he knew what was happening.

He was starting to have a panic attack. He suddenly heard the sound of something going off and he knew exactly what it was. It was monitors going off, showing that he was in distress. He immediately felt a gentle hand on him.

It was the woman’s. She was speaking to him but he couldn’t clearly hear what she was saying.

“Calm down,” she said.

Stiles tried to calm down but none of it was working. He couldn’t.

“Calm down!” she said louder this time, firmly holding onto him. “Look at me!”

Stiles couldn’t look at her. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

“STILES! LOOK AT ME, DAMMIT!”

Stiles’ eyes flew open and he was looking into the face of the women. He knew her.

It was the face of his mother looking at him. The face of Claudia Stilinski, with her brown eyes, was looking at Stiles.

Stiles couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing so his body decided to take action and caused him to faint, allowing his mind the comfort of some peace and quiet.

* * *

Stuart had been working on setting up the private server most of the night.

Usually he worked quite fast but he was exhausted from the day’s events. He was getting annoyed with how slow he was working which only frustrated Stuart more, and working when frustrated didn’t help anyone.

Eventually he got it up and running, so that by the time morning had come everyone was connected with one another while he sat back looking bleary eyed with a bowl of cereal in hand. Everyone was accounted for as they began their private conference chat.

“So...” Peter started, “What do we know?”

“We know that the awkward clone was the one who gave up our location,” Storm started, “but he did so without his knowledge.”

“How so?”

“I accessed the cameras feed I installed in my house and saw them remove some type of chip from his phone.”

“Can you bring up the video feed for us?” Peter asked.

“Unfortunately I can't,” Storm replied. “I made sure the feed was impenetrable. I have sole access to it because of my IP address - it's only linked up to my iPad.”

“Okay,” he sighed. “Are you certain it was his phone and not some other device?”

“It can’t be his phone,” Derek voiced, “because I have it...”

“How do you have his phone?” Lydia questioned.

“When Peter knocked him out, I had just placed his phone in his hand but then it fell and so it was easier to keep it on me.”

“Have you found anything that could be important to us on there?” Stephen questioned.

“Nothing. He was going to visit a friend called Scott last night but other than that it was just random hook-up messages that had been sent and a few photos but otherwise...” he answered shaking his head.

Peter looked up at Derek. The pain he had seen in his nephew’s eyes the night before had been locked away. He was all business. Peter felt sorry for his nephew but he knew that in time he would be okay.

“Then apparently whoever’s phone he had on him was tapped,” Storm said.

“It was Jimmy’s,” Derek and Isaac said simultaneously.

“We were ambushed when we went down to the conference. No one else knew where we would be except for Derek, Jimmy and I,” Isaac said.

“Why didn’t you guys say anything?” Stephen questioned.

“We were going to but then the Stiles situation happened,” Isaac said.

“What else do we know?” Peter asked.

“They did a sweep of the house; the cameras have all been disabled,” Storm said.

“Is there anything else we know?”

“We were able to catch a break on the keys front!” Stephen said, “The awkward clone was right in his guess, or close enough to be right. The keys were made for accessing lockers. Thanks to my research skills as a journalist I was able to find out something very important; the interesting thing about the keys is that they're used for lockers that only get used at train stations. The design of the key differs; compared to your run of the mill key they have elongated partitions between the grooves. Other than the distinct grooves and the locker numbers on the key, there is nothing special about them.  I haven’t figured out which train stations the keys belong to though.”

“I can try and figure out where exactly those keys originate from so as to reduce our chances of wild goose chases. That way we know which train stations to focus on and which not to,” Stuart said.

“Will that work?” Derek asked.

“It wouldn't hurt to try,” Stephen said.

“What is so damn important that the organisation had to hide it away at train station lockers?” Stuart asked.

“Whatever it was, it got Jimmy and that Stiles guy killed,” Isaac stated. “The information they have is clearly big enough to kill over.”

“Does anyone else think that they're setting a trap?” Storm asked.

“Possibly, but it’s the only lead we have,” Derek offered.

“There is too much of a gap in the information that we have,” Peter added. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

“I say we take a chance and see what’s inside those lockers,” Storm suggested, “It may very well be a trap but we’ve been playing on the defensive for too long. We're going to have to do something proactive... and soon.”

Storm had a point. If they wanted to get closer to catching a break, to bring the organisation down once and for all then they were going to have to take a few risks. This would be one of them. They all knew what the end goal was - freedom. They all wanted it and this allowed them to take one step closer to that goal.

“Are we all agreeing to do this?” Lydia asked.

“Seems that way,” Peter said, “So we’re decided?”

“Yes,” everyone said in agreement.

“We’ll get in contact if anything important comes up or if we have any news.”

The conference call ended but not without giving everyone a renewed sense of hope. They had a plan, they had a goal and they were determined to get it done. Stuart just hoped that it wasn’t for nought.

Just then someone’s phone went off.

Everyone looked at their phones but it wasn’t theirs.

It was Stiles’ phone.

Derek answered the phone, putting it on speaker.

“Hello?” he said.

“ _Hello?”_ the stranger said. “ _Who is this?”_

“Who are you?” Derek asked ignoring the person’s questions.

 _“I’m Allison,”_ the female voice replied. _“Is this Derek?”_

“How do know my name?”

 _“I work for the organisation, Inner Vitality Enterprises...”_ Allison offered.

Peter and Stuarts faces dropped. They immediately pulled out their firearms and ran to the windows; looking to see if they could spot anyone. The lady on the phone had used the full name of the organisation that they were running from, which automatically sent them on high alert.

“What do you want?” Derek asked, suddenly angry.

 _“I was told to phone you,”_ she said, _“Apparently you’re the only one who can help.”_

“And why would I help you or the organisation?”

_“Because Stiles needs you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!  
> Sorry for the delay but that was because, as you’ll have noticed by the chapter numbers, I have been furiously writing and trying to finish this fic for you. Now it is just the editing that will be done I don’t expect too many delays but make no promises.  
> I am sorry for the errors from previous chapters that I missed because that was my fault. The most challenging thing in writing for me is continuity and I have learned a very valuable lesson regarding that. Thank you so much for reading. Review/Kudo’s = love.  
> Side note: please feel free to suggest fics to me via inbox or etc. Communicate with me :)  
> Oh, and Happy Holidays to all!


	8. Chapter 8

Stiles woke up in a cell. Surrounded by white; the only item in it: a bed.

He scanned the room before finally looking down at himself noticing that he had on other clothing. Someone had changed him while he had been out. He sat up too quickly and nearly had to lie back down again to regain his sense of balance.

He realised, as he placed both of his hands on either side of him, his one arm was bandaged; the one where the madman had been Picasso with a scalpel.

Suddenly everything returned to him. His mother had been there.

None of it made any sense to him. His mother was supposed to be dead. What was she doing here? And if she were involved with these people then what did that say about her? Stiles had more questions than he had answers and it resulted in a more severe headache. For every bit of information he got, it just created an even greater puzzle.

Stiles had been going over his thoughts for quite some time before he started hearing footsteps. He climbed onto the bed, facing away from the door. He didn’t want to deal with anyone now. The footsteps stopped right in front of the door - making Stiles grow nervous.

“Stiles,” a voice hissed.

Stiles ignored it.

“Stiles, it’s me Scott!” the voice said.

Stiles immediately turned to where the voice was coming from and he saw the face of his friend looking at him through the glass. Stiles sprang up and ran towards the door.

“Scott?” Stiles said. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s difficult to explain,” he said, “but you have to come with me now.”

“Well, open up!” Stiles said, beaming.

“I can’t, I have to wait for the guard to open up your cell gate. Your mom is organising everything.”

Stiles’ heart sank. Scott knew about his mother. Scott knew about his mother and didn’t tell him.

Just then the gate opened but Stiles couldn't bring himself to move.

“Stiles, come on!” Scott said.

“How long have you known?” Stiles asked, barely whispering.

“Stiles, now isn’t the time for this,” Scott complained, “We’ve only got a small gap for this.”

“How did I get here?” Stiles persisted.

“We need to go, Stiles!”

“I’m sick of people not giving me answers,” he seethed as if he hadn't heard Scott at all.

“Stiles, I would love to give you some answers but now is not the time, I really don’t want to be helpless again if Dylan stops by to inflict more pain on you.”

“You were there!” Stiles exasperated. “I had a feeling that I heard your voice but I didn’t want to believe it.”

“STILES!” he shouted, “We can do this later. I need you to come with me _now_!”

“Fine!”

“Turn around,” Scott said. “I need to handcuff you!”

“What?”

“Stiles, if you don’t want to die in here, you will shut up and do as I say because right now I’m your only way out of this. You better start trusting me if you want to survive.”

Stiles stopped arguing as he turned, allowing Scott to secure the handcuffs around his wrists. Scott quickly guided him out of the cell. Stiles could feel his heart beating like a racehorse, scared that they would be discovered at any moment.

“Where are we going?” Stiles asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Shut up and keep walking,” Scott said.

Stiles had never known Scott to be this aggressive with anyone. Clearly something had happened to him over the years in order to make him so uptight. Stiles was about to complain about how his supposed friend was treating him but never got a chance to.

“McCall,” a voice called.

“Keep walking,” Scott whispered, as they turned down the next passage.

“McCall!” the voice called again, this time much closer.

They were feigning ignorance until Scott had no option but to stop them. Stiles heart sank when he realised who it was that was calling them.

“Where are you taking the prisoner?” Dylan questioned.

“To the doctor,” Scott said, confidently, “He's having his first operation. A kidney removal.”

“Ah,” Dylan said grabbing Stiles’ face, “I can’t wait for this _thing_ to die.”

Stiles didn’t flinch as the cretin then moved his hands onto Stiles throat, choking him slightly.

“Sir,” Scott said, voice relaying his frustration at Dylan's behaviour that was clearly draining the colour from Stiles’ face, “Sir!”

He eventually let go, smirking. Stiles spat into the vermin’s smirking face, “That’s for cutting me, you piece of shit.”

Dylan was about to punch Stiles when his fist was caught mid-air.

“Now now, Dylan, we don’t give into our basic urges,” the stranger said, releasing Dylan’s hand, “otherwise it makes us no better than them.”

“Yes, Gerard,” Dylan said, obediently, standing up straighter, “I apologise.”

“Now, as you were, McCall,” Gerard, said.

Dylan stepped aside reluctantly to allow Scott and Stiles through.

“Who was that?” Stiles asked later once he knew the men couldn't hear him.

“That was Sergeant Argent, the one in charge of hunting down the clones.”

“He didn’t seem that bad,” Stiles muttered, “just seems like another old man.”

“That’s exactly why he is so dangerous,” Scott said, “wait till you see him cut a man in half, I guarantee your opinion will change.”

Stiles swallowed a little heavier at the thought of being sliced in half; it wasn’t an appealing thought. It didn’t take them long until they arrived at their destination. Stiles was relieved, but also pained, to see his mother again. Scott had told the truth when he said they were going to see his mother.

“What took you so long?” Claudia asked, turning away from the briefcase she was busy with as Scott closed the door behind them.

“Stiles was being stubborn,” Scott complained removing the handcuffs, “and we bumped into company.”

Claudia gave Stiles a very tight hug. He was reluctant to return the hug at first but then he realised the last time he hugged his mother was the day she died. Well, as it turns out, the day he _thought_ she died. Stiles gingerly held onto his mother, not sure what to make of it. He could feel the tears start to well up in his eyes as the emotions of being without his parents for years, all came back to him. It felt so nice to hold on to her, feel that she was real and that he hadn't been dreaming up the entire thing.

“I missed you,” she whispered, the sound barely carrying to Stiles' ear. The sentiment, however, rang through Stiles as if she'd just shouted it out loud for the world to hear.

“I missed you, too,” Stiles choked out.

Finding his voice had been a mission. He felt numb underneath her grasp, his mind buzzing with questions and with an array of emotions all battling to come out on top. He didn’t know how to respond. He was either in disbelief or in shock or something because it felt surreal to him. Stiles was still assessing his emotions, trying to figure out which one was the appropriate to start with, but before he knew it his anger had started coming out.

“Where have you been?” he blurted out, the amount of aggression in his tone surprising even him.

“I had to leave,” she responded, tears forming in her eyes, “I had to leave in order to protect you, Stiles. They found out what I had done, they were willing to track you down and force you to become a part of their experiment. I couldn’t do that to you; I couldn’t allow that to happen.” 

“Don’t you know what your death did me? To dad?” Stiles hissed, “Dad started drinking - excessively - because the pain was too much to bear. I had to be there for him when he was feeling down regardless of the fact that I was dealing with your death too. He finally stopped, only when he saw how much it was hurting me to see him like that.”

“I knew you would be alright though,” she replied, almost as if she were convincing herself, and took a hold of his hands. “Your father loves you more than anything in this world, Stiles. He was heartbroken at the idea that we couldn’t have kids. We had been trying for a year and nothing; I had to take the risk though. You should have seen how his eyes lit up when I told him he was going to be a father.”

“It wasn’t fair!” Stiles argued, pulling his hands from hers, “It wasn’t fair what you did... I needed my mother _and_ my father. Not just one parent...”

“I did it to _protect_ you, Stiles!” she cried.

“You know what protecting me did?” Stiles asked rhetorically, the tears that had been forming in his eyes finally falling, “It made me parentless. Dad was taking down some dangerous people and they retaliated by grabbing me from school then tying me up in the living room at home. Then they ambushed Dad when he came back from work and set fire to the house with us still inside. He died protecting _me_. I used to have nightmares about that night sometimes. I even screamed out for you once; screamed for you to help but you weren’t there. It was just me. I was so scared and no matter how many times people told me that I was going to be fine, I knew I wasn’t... because I was _alone_.”

Stiles voice unintentionally broke towards the end.

“I am so, so sorry,” Claudia cried silently, tears rolling down her face.

Stiles felt anger start to rise within him directed at his mother, because what she did had hurt. They would have been able to tackle anything and overcome it; any obstacle that would be in their way, if she had trusted them enough with the truth then they would have been able to prepare for the worst. It hurt that she didn’t trust them enough to tell them the truth; if she had told his father then it would have been fine. His father would’ve made sure that they would be fine; but she didn’t, leaving Stiles to grow up without a mother. Stiles would have picked growing up with a mother, any day of the week, as opposed to the life he had lived.

His anger receded as he stared at his mother, seeing the tears on her face. He was upset with her and he had reacted in anger because he had felt betrayed by what she had done; however, how could he fault her for doing something that she believed to be right? Her decision had hurt not only him, but clearly it had hurt her too. Stiles knew that feeling all too well because he had been in that position himself. Sometimes your judgement gets clouded and you make a decision you wished you could have avoided.

It must have been difficult for her to give up her life and her family. He saw the strength it required for her to do something that was so difficult, but Stiles still felt like it had been a terribly stupid decision. It was a decision he hated. He couldn’t help but think back to all the times he had seen the relationship Scott had had with his mother, and then the dull ache that he would feel in the pit of his stomach because he knew he could never have that. He now knew that she had made a touch choice to leave out of her need to protect her family, but he _hated_ her choice.

Stiles looked at the woman before him. Time had changed her. Time had changed him too.

Stiles felt at war with himself. He kept feeling like he was going back and forth between his gut reaction of the boy who lost his mother and that of the man who knew there were other factors in her decision. He would always be that boy who had lost his mother growing up, he would always be that teenager who had lost his dad, but Stiles would always be that person who couldn’t let the bad stuff weigh him down. If he had let his situation get to him then he wouldn’t have made it out of those situations. He hated the ways things had turned out but it was time to be a man. He knew that life could be brutal and letting his anger fester would only hurt him more than it did anyone else. He had been shown the difficulties of life, having barely had food at times. Life wasn't easy but you try to pick up the pieces as best you can.  

Things were the way they were, and there was nothing that could be done to go back in time to change it. He wanted to relish in his anger but a quote his father told him popped into his head, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

He had every right to be angry, but harbouring that anger would hurt Stiles more than anyone else. Thing were not easy; they were in a complicated situation that Stiles had no clue how to handle. He didn’t know when it ended but they had to keep moving.

He wasn’t quite ready to forgive his mother but that would come in time.

“I'm sorry.”

She looked at him, seeing the man he had become.

“I'm just upset with how things panned out. That kid who lost his mother is still pissed about how it all turned out, _but_ there is no way that we can go back into the past and change it.”

She was hesitant, contemplating whether or not to hug him, but she eventually moved forward to wrap her arms around him. Claudia gingerly hugged him, unsure if he would return the gesture; hoping that he wouldn’t reject it.

Stiles could feel the love that she was trying to give him but his mixed emotions around the situation at hand didn't allow him fully appreciate it. He _wanted_ to forgive her, and that was the main point. Their relationship was going to need serious mending, but it would happen at its own pace. Things wouldn’t be easy, that much he was certain of.

“I love you,” she risked. “You know that, right?”

Stiles took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he answered. 

“Sure,” he murmured.

Even through his anger, it felt good to be hugged by his mother. He always tried to picture what it would be like to have experienced one more hug, one more moment with her.

“Sorry to interrupt...”  Scott said, clearing his throat.

“Oh, yes,” Claudia said, quickly kicking into action mode, “We need to get you out of here. Scott get undressed.”

“Wait, what?” he stuttered.

“Stiles needs to wear your clothes,” she said, “You can stay in your underwear and undershirt.”

Scott slowly got undressed handing his clothes over to Stiles. Stiles had to admit that he was kind of impressed with Scott’s physique.

“Why do I have to wear his clothes?” Stiles asked as he was buttoning up Scott’s shirt.

“Because it’s all part of the plan to break you out of here,” his mother said.

“I thought I was going to escape with Stiles,” Scott stated.

“That was the plan but Allison came up with a better idea,” she countered, “A plan where we would have more time to collect even more evidence against these people.”

Stiles’ mother had returned her attention to the briefcase; it looked like it included samples of something and documentation of sorts. She looked at her watch quickly and then at the door. Stiles wasn’t sure what exactly was going on but he knew that he had to follow his mother plan.

“If we are going to sell the fact that Stiles overpowered you,” Claudia started, turning to look at Scott, “then Stiles is going to need to punch you.”

“Please tell me you’re joking...” Scott stated.

“We have to sell this story, Scott,” she pleaded, “We have to minimise suspicion on us otherwise all of this will have been for nothing; and we die while the organisation continues killing innocent people just to harvest their organs.”

Scott turned to Stiles.

“Punch me.”

Scott thought that he was going to have to convince Stiles to do it, but apparently not. Stiles let rip one swift punch to his jaw, hard enough to bruise but not hard enough to damage. Stiles thanked his time as a bartender for the ability to throw, not only, a proper punch, but a punch that could either incapacitate or merely injure.

“Don’t hold back on my account,” Scott mumbled, sarcastically, after rubbing his jaw.

“ _That_ was for being a crappy friend,” Stiles complained. “All I wanted was for you to be honest with me.”

“Good thing you didn’t know that I was the one who shot you,” he said.

“You did _what_?”

“I had to give the others a warning that we were coming,” he argued, “It seemed logical at the time, and besides it was just nanobot I shot you with. Didn’t you at least feel a pinch?”

“No,” Stiles retorted. “My head was still woozy from being knocked out.”

“And whose fault is that?” Scott winced, as he laughed from the throbbing of his punched jaw.

“Shut up,” Stiles pouted. “I still can’t believe you shot me.”

“Now is not the time for this, Stiles,” his mother chided.

“We need to move quickly,” Scott added.

Just then a lady burst into the room. Stiles was about to start panicking at the thought that they were busted until he realised that he knew the young lady.

“You should have locked the door, Scott!” she chastised.

Scott looked at her sheepishly, pecking her on the lips, before he went over to lock the door.

“ALLISON?” Stiles exclaimed.

“Hi, Stiles,” she said, giving him a one armed hug.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Scott and Allison work with me,” Claudia explained. “Allison was already working here creating the serum for the organisation. The one that took you down...”

Allison handed some of the medical bottles, which she had brought with her, to Stiles’ mother as she was speaking.

“We were already friendly with one another and then she introduced me to Scott. I did some digging once his heard his full name. I thought the chance of him having the same name as my son’s best friend could have been a coincidence but it didn’t hurt to investigate and that was when I discovered that we had a connection - you.”

“You remembered his name?” Stiles asked, astounded.

“Stiles,” she explained. “Any memory of you, I remember every fine detail; you brought Scott home with you after your first day of kindergarten school, announcing that he was going to be your best friend forever.”

Stiles was surprised. He forgot how he met Scott, in his mind Scott had always just been there in his life.

“How did you land up here?” Stiles queried.

“For the longest time I just did what they told me; living my life without any sense of contentment because those who I loved were out of my life while these people just wanted to use my scientific research for their benefits. After witnessing the death of an innocent man that they were operating on, I knew that I couldn’t standby and do nothing- they had to be stopped. I infiltrated the division to see if I would be able to bring it to an end. I needed help and that was when I met Jimmy, I was the doctor in charge of his case and when I saw that he was a cop I took a risk and revealed to him what the organisation had actually been working on. Allison caught me stealing information and, instead of turning me in, she allowed me to explain what was happening; that was when she agreed to help me. I gave Jimmy the information he needed to track down the other clones. The poor kid and I had to continue with his tests and operations to maintain our cover but he said that as long as they brought down the organisation it would be all worth it. Not long after the clones went missing, Allison’s grandfather was brought in to spearhead the tracking of the clones, we figured out that Scott’s experience in the private security sector was our way to keep an eyes and ears on that division.”

Stiles was processing all of the information that his mother had just told him. He couldn’t believe the lengths she had gone through. Even now, she was still trying to protect him; putting her life on the line for him.

“Did you manage to complete the task?” Claudia asked turning her attention to Allison.

“Yes,” she replied. “It was a bit of a struggle but everything is set in motion.”

“Good.”

“What are you talking about?” Stiles questioned.

“You're going to see now.”

Claudia quickly placed the three small bottles that she received from Allison on the table; she took one of the small bottles and put it in, what seemed to be, a specialised gun. She closed the briefcase that she organised for Stiles, and handed the weapon to him. She saw the look of panic in his eyes as he took the weapon from her.

“This was the weapon they used to take you down,” she said, “Except with this version, they can’t use a sniper to administer the drug; it's like a miniature version. It’s supposed to incapacitate the victim, slowing their heart down exponentially. It's very similar to suspended animation, it almost stops the heart entirely. So when someone checks their pulse they wouldn't hear a heartbeat and they would think the person dead. In order to be revived you would need a dose of this on hand to administer.”

Stiles swallowed heavily as she handed him another bottle, only this one was unlabelled. He felt dizzy with all of this new information. This was some next level crazy.

“It’s adrenaline,” she explained. “It’s still the best way to restart the heart. It’s not a perfect science - very flawed.” 

He nodded.

“This organisation gets away with so much, Stiles. Their technology is so advanced that these are still the simplest of technology they have to offer,” she concluded.

He took a deep breath to steady himself.

“Ready to escape?” she enquired.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied.

“It was really nice seeing you, Stiles,” Allison said, giving him a hug.

“I just wish it were under a less stressful condition.”

“Oh, there will be more than enough time for that,” she winked.

Stiles then turned his attention to his old best friend before he left.

“Thank you,” Stiles said before leaning in for a hug.

“Glad I could help,” Scott said, reciprocating the gesture.

“I'll be back in a bit,” Claudia said to Scott and Alison, “Don’t forget to make it look like there was a struggle here, okay?”

They nodded before Stiles and his mother departed.

Stiles held onto his mother as if he were holding her hostage. His mother instructed him to do so should the security footage be accessed. It was all about giving him enough time to escape while not drawing too much suspicion to how he did so.

She had clearly thought this all out to make it easier for him to escape.

“You ready?” she mumbled.

Stiles nodded.

She put some force behind her as she trampled onto his foot. It hurt like hell, but not enough to stop him from escaping. They were practically at the door so Stiles took the briefcase from her and let her go, allowing her to pull on the alarm.

Stiles ran; he didn’t know where he was running but he kept on running. His mother told him that when he started running it would be fine, he just had to look out for someone waiting at the fence but Stiles wasn’t so sure. He kept on running not seeing anyone in the dark when he saw that someone standing at the fence was flashing a torch at him. He really hoped that he wasn’t being stupid and that he was doing the right thing. Once he got closer to the fence, he started hearing gunfire.

The people from within the building started shooting at him. They were still a ways off but that didn’t mean it made them any less scary. He got to the fence where a stranger was keeping it open for him. Stiles was almost through when his shirt got caught on the damn fence. His heart started pounding profusely as the people proceeded to make their way to him. The stranger was trying to help but he also was struggling. Stiles heard something hit the pole near his head and ducked to escape the other gunshots.

He managed to free himself from the fence and ran for the car that he barely made out in the night. He couldn't see who had been helping him because there was no way for him to have seen the stranger's face in the dark. It scared the shit out of him but he ran across the dirt-road the little ways to the car nonetheless. He jumped into the passenger seat, out of breath, as he waited for the driver to start the car.

“So?” the stranger asked, flooring the accelerator as they escaped, “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

Stiles turned to see Derek staring back at him. He felt both relieved and terrified to see him. The guy wasn’t exactly easy to read. He didn't know what was going on but what he did know was that he would pick Derek over the people back at the organisation any day.

“You know what they say,” he responded. “You just can’t keep a good man down.”

Derek just smirked at his response as they drove further into the night. Stiles hoped that they had enough of a head start so Dylan and his men-in-black wouldn't be able to catch up to them. His mother had definitely cut it close with her plan but it had worked in the end, and that was all he could focus on. It was a victory. A small one, but a victory nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta came across this and thought it would be lovely - An elaboration on the canon relationship of Scott and Stiles: "I was looking up how long Scott and Stiles had been best friends on the show and I found this: [tyler-dylan-quotes-about-scott-stiles](http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/scott-and-stiles/articles/116579/title/tyler-dylan-quotes-about-scott-stiles)".  
> Also if anyone what’s to know who said Sheriff Stilinski's quote, it's Buddha, I am not a Buddhist but I thought that quote spoke so much truth about when getting angry.  
> Again thank you for reading the story. Comments and reviews are encouraged!  
> Also a thank you to my beta, it was very challenging to write this chapter because of the mythology and reasoning behind decisions that had to be laid out but in the end if I didn’t have my beta to question me and come up with contrasting ideas then this fic would be less enjoyable.  
> If you have any questions, ask me and I shall answer :)


	9. Chapter 9

The car ride was extremely quiet. Stiles had questions but he wasn’t sure how to go about asking them. Usually he would just ask the question but, if he was being honest with himself, he was intimidated, if not slightly scared, of Derek.

They didn’t say much along the way; the view outside the car being enough of a distraction for Stiles.

“Wait in the car,” Derek told him. Stiles watched as Derek got out of the car and disappeared somewhere around the property they had pulled up at.

Stiles sat in silence and had started twiddling his fingers by the time Derek eventually returned.

“It’s safe.”

Stiles climbed out of the car, grabbing the briefcase his mother had given him before closing the car door. He silently followed Derek into the house. The silence was an awkward one which was really not a good sign.

“Do you want anything?” Stiles had just sat down when Derek asked him from behind the refrigerator door.

“Some water would be nice,” Stiles said.

Derek handed Stiles a bottle of water before he sat down opposite him, opening the bottle of beer he'd brought for himself. The awkward silence returned, weighing down on Stiles with each passing moment.  

 “Where are we?” Stiles asked, making conversation.

“A safe house,” Derek explained, “Everyone went to their own safe house after we were attacked.”

“So you’ve been here the whole time?”

“No,” he answered. “I’ve been with Peter and Stuart at their safe house; I was supposed to come here with Jimmy but that didn’t happen. Peter didn’t like the idea of me being here alone so he insisted that I go with him. I would have taken you there but your friend, Allison, said that leaving the town would be dangerous, because the organisation would be watching the roads. So then I thought I would bring you here instead.”

“So, then, she was also the reason that you knew where I was?” he asked.

“Pretty much,” Derek replied, taking a swig from his drink, “She said that the kid who died in front of me would need my help so...”

“And you believed her?” Stiles asked, surprised.

“I expected it to be a trap,” he explained, “Getting Peter and Stuart to let me out of the door was impossible but they understood my reasons for wanting to go.”

Stiles nodded, looking at Derek, trying to figure out what his reason could possibly have been.

“How did she get in contact?”

“She called your phone,” he said. “I picked up and she knew my name.”

“She did?”

“Apparently Jimmy’s source knew about me and they had connections that got through to your number.”

“Oh,” Stiles muttered.

His mother was apparently orchestrating every angle of the organisation’s take down. She had been the one supplying Jimmy with the information that he further investigated - unfortunately that somehow landed in Jimmy getting himself caught. It was a constant deadly game of cat and mouse; at a moment’s notice things could come crushing down. Everything was interconnected and nothing was simple.

Stiles looked at Derek again - there was a lot going on with the man. Nothing simple about him too, and, if Stiles were being honest, it was that fact which intrigued him most.

 “You remember the last time we were alone?” Stiles questioned, remembering.

“You talking about the sex?”

Stiles choked on his drink, coughing a few times before finally gaining his breath again.

“I meant you had just gotten home and you started interrogating me about the hearing.”

“You didn’t actually answer my question about the hearing, though, did you?”

“I didn’t get any answers from you either,” Stiles countered.

“Fair enough,” Derek said “So, quid pro quo?”

“Agreed,” Stiles said.

Derek walked throughout the safe house with his beer in hand. The silence lingered on, until Stiles decided to start.

“Don’t laugh, but,” Stiles said, “I made myself sick. I was in the bathroom freaking out about the fact that everything I memorised about the shooting had suddenly evaporated out of my mind. So I did the only logical thing that I could do, I unscrewed the hand dispenser and started drinking it.”

“You did what?” Derek said, his eyebrows lifting in shock.

“I was desperate, okay,” Stiles argued.

“Remind me to never question your resolve...”

“Thanks,” he said.

“...or your commitment to stupidity either,” Derek continued with a smirk.

“Funny,” Stiles deadpanned.

Derek was just shaking his head in disbelief while looking at Stiles. Stiles caught his eye. They exchanged a loaded glance with one another before continuing as if they hadn’t looked at each other.

“Why was there even a hearing?” Stiles asked, “Cops, never mind Detectives, don’t make mistakes like that unless they're stressed and frazzled. Your judgement is everything. It’s the difference between life and death, my father taught me that.”

“It wasn’t a mistake,” Derek started, “He purposefully shot that Matt guy.”

“Why?”

“He worked for the organisation,” Derek stated, “They have their agents' covers so well-established that it results in people questioning _your_ judgement. To everyone else you look like the bad guy. It wasn't difficult for Jimmy to go from the most beloved one in his precinct to the one that everyone questioned.”

Stiles was listening very intently to what Derek was saying. He could hear the love in Derek's voice as he spoke of Jimmy. It made Stiles jealous of him, the one who had Derek's love. Stiles had spent one night with Derek and it had been unforgettable. Even now, while talking to him he could feel his attraction to him.

“That must have been hard for him,” Stiles said, sympathetically, “It must have been difficult for you both.”

“It was.”

“You must have loved him.”

Derek shifted uncomfortably.

“Sorry,” Stiles said, “I didn’t mean to pry. Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me.”

“It's fine,” he answered sternly, not looking at Stiles, “I did love him once.”

Derek was avoiding Stiles’ gaze, not bothering to look at him as he spoke.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

“A year ago, when I revealed everything to him,” Derek started, “he was beyond upset. He struggled to trust me and who could blame him? Jimmy had difficulty trusting people in general and what I did was the ultimate betrayal and he couldn’t get past that. After that, he trusted me enough to protect him, but not enough to protect him emotionally. I couldn’t blame him. He was right.”

“Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. Choices are made and we just have to bear the consequences,” Stiles said, looking directly at Derek whose gaze was looking at anything but his.

“You reap what you sow,” Derek replied.

Stiles could see the regret that Derek had, it was a feeling that he knew all too well. It was something he was familiar with. He regretted not allowing himself to fall in love - he never allowed himself to get too attached to people. Getting attached would require him to open up, to share things, which was something he had trouble with.

However, there was a time where he had the chance of falling in love and took it.

It had gone well, for the most part, except that in the end it just wasn’t meant to be. He soon realised he wasn’t actually in love and couldn’t go through with it any longer. After coming so close to settling down, only for it to end badly, he figured it was time for him to move on.

Ever since then he hadn't allowed himself to get too familiar with anyone else.

When Stiles came out of his trance, he spotted Derek lost in thought as he stared at a picture of Jimmy holding up a certificate. 

 “Why was he called Jimmy?” Stiles questioned, pulling Derek’s attention back to the present, “It just dawned on me that everyone’s name except his started with an S-T, but why wasn't his?”

“His name was Stig,” Derek informed, retrieving the picture he had been staring at from it's place where it hung on the wall and handing it over to Stiles, “Jimmy was his middle name. It was what everyone knew him as and then when he found out about how his first name was something the organisation gave him he went as far as to permanently change it to Jimmy.”

Stiles looked at the picture; he was impressed. The man he was staring at had a lot to be miserable and defeated about, but he wasn’t. Stiles could tell that Jimmy had had a lot of impact on those around him, his mother included if she trusted him enough to help her bring down the organisation. Stiles would have liked to have known the guy, but unfortunately things didn't work out like that.

"It's one of the few pictures we have here," Derek continued. "We avoided coming here as often as we could. Only coming here to do maintenance then leaving again. I didn't want the place having any sentimental objects or pictures, but he wanted this one here and eventually I relented."

Returning the photo to Derek, he watched him hang the picture back on the wall.   

They remained in silence after that, only, this time, it wasn’t awkward. They were getting to know each other. Getting to know someone’s history and their life - Stiles found it interesting. Stiles kept glancing at Derek and as soon as Derek looked at him, he looked away.

“You’re bleeding,” Derek told him.

“What?”

 “Your bandage,” he indicated, as he got from his seat, “It’s bleeding.”

“Oh.”

Stiles slowly loosened his bandage. He didn’t even notice the dull throb that had probably been there the whole time. Stiles was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn’t even realised.  The throb in his arm slowly became more pronounced as he removed the blood stained bandages. Derek quickly returned with the first aid kit and sat down next to Stiles. Stiles became very aware of his movements with Derek next to him.

“What happened?”

“The psychotic doppelganger, Dylan,” Stiles grumbled.

Stiles thought that the madman had just made markings on his arm, but to Stiles surprise he noticed that he had stitches in his arm. The crazed look-a-like had actually begun to carve something into Stiles’ skin.

“Oh my god,” Stiles said, looking pale and queasy.

“You tore open your stitches,” Derek’s grim expression revealed everything.

“You’re going to have to re-stitch it, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Derek answered.

Stiles grumbled. He didn’t like needles.

Thankfully, Derek had a bottle of morphine on hand. Stiles was surprised to see that Derek was trained in this stuff. He worked quickly enough, cleaning up the wound then injecting the morphine before he stitched up the injury.

Stiles was spellbound watching Derek work; his permanent 5 o’clock shadow and his deep-set scowl as he focused on what he was doing just attracted Stiles’ attention. Stiles was very aware of Derek, every single muscle movement and the slow intake of his breath. Derek could take anyone’s breath away and right now that was precisely what he was doing to Stiles.

It didn’t take long for Derek to notice the way Stiles was looking at him. He tried to remain focussed on the job that he was doing but every once in while he returned the gaze of the awkward and extremely forthcoming guy that watched him work. Derek found himself noting small things about Stiles - his moles that were, in a way, rather cute, the way he blushed and how comfortable he seemed in his own skin.

It would have been too easy for Derek to compare Stiles to Jimmy, but the more time he spent with him the more he noticed that he was so different. Jimmy and Stiles may have had the same face but there was something so uniquely Stiles about the man in front of him that it didn't even really seem Jimmy-like anymore. Stiles’ posture, his sarcasm and his honesty were admirable qualities, his behaviour and attitude so different from Jimmy's. Derek liked how, with Stiles, what you saw was what you got.

Initially he felt a pang of longing for the man whom Stiles resembled, but he knew himself well enough to know that he missed Jimmy only as a friend, not a companion. Jimmy had come to be the closest and one of the most reliable friends that he had.

Their relationship had steadily declined before Jimmy had demanded that Derek tell him the truth about the organisation.  Derek had just chosen not to pay attention to it and label it a rough patch. After the truth had come out, they had become even more disconnected.

They decided that instead of letting the tension build and build, they would talk it out.

It had been an unconventional take on 'the talk' because Derek had expected him to launch into a tirade and start throwing things at him. Oddly enough, it worked. They spoke about everything and anything. Spoke to their hearts' content.

It had been a very rough time for them but once they realised their relationship had been over before talk of clones and the organisation there was really no amount of 'working it out' that was going to help.

It was during their talk, as he was staring at Jimmy, that he realised the love was gone.

He had fallen out of love with Jimmy.

He still loved Jimmy as a friend, those feelings would never disappear. However, the raw, burning and passionate love he had held for him before had burned up. There was just a small flame left now. One that could only be described as 'endearment' or 'fondness' for his lover-turned-friend.

At the end of it, they had a reach agreement with each other. They would no longer be romantically involved but for the sake of bringing down the organisation, they would continue to work together.

It was difficult in the start but they made it through. The biggest surprise was that they had become to be great friends thereafter, relying on each other when they needed but never more than that.

Derek’s moment with Stiles had been a moment of weakness. He had been without the intimate touch of another person for so long that the brush of another’s lips against his had felt too good from him to deny himself the sensation. His body had felt alive in ways that it hadn’t in quite a long time. He knew he should have known better but he had gotten lost in his need to scratch an itch that he hadn’t scratched in too long.

He didn’t do the one night stands in quite some time because of the danger those situations had presented. He had once brought home a stranger when he was younger. She had thought it had been something more but when Derek tried to explain it wasn’t, things had ended horrifically. She had set his house a light in the middle of the night with his entire family inside, thinking he would be there.

He wasn’t.

It had been very rough on Derek, but he made it through. Thankfully he had one family member left but it had been someone with who he shared a tense relationship. Living with his uncle Peter had been an odd experience in the start but soon he got over it and life moved on.  

When Stiles told him that Jimmy died, he’d known that it was coming, he just wished that it didn’t have to happen the way it did. He would have preferred to have his friend live out his life and grow old, but in the end that was not how it worked out.

Derek had instructed Jimmy not to do anything ridiculous or reckless while he was away but as per usual he didn’t listen. He just marched to the sound of his own drum and, in the end, his need to make sure they all had the freedom they deserved had unfortunately had landed in his death. Derek was upset that he had lost a dear friend but he would make sure it wasn’t in vain.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

“Just a penny?”

“Well,” Stiles pondered searching his pockets, “it’s all I have on me at the moment. Unless you want a cheque?”

“Cheque, it is,” Derek replied.

“Damn,” Stiles said, shaking his head, “just when I decided to leave my cheque book at home.”

Derek grinned at that.

Seeing Derek grin, made Stiles grin. He felt like an idiot for doing so, but it couldn’t be helped.

“I was just thinking that you are just... you.”

“Is that a compliment or a snide remark?”

“For me to know and for you to find out,” Derek teased.

Stiles blushed at that as Derek finished up bandaging his arm.

“There we go,” Derek announced looking at Stiles, “All stitched up.”

“Great.”

“Great.”

They stared at each other for a second too long before Derek went off to return the first-aid kit from where he retrieved it. Stiles gave Derek one last look before he took a big gulp of his water. Hoping the water would help stop him perving over Derek, but if only it was so simple.

* * *

“Wakey wakey!” the voice said.

Stiles gasped trying to sit up but his restrictions were keeping him ties tightly to the slab of cold mental on his back. A pit of fear weighing on his stomach

“You didn’t think you were actually gone did you?”

Stiles glared up into the face of the thing leering over him.

“I am really going to enjoy this,” Dylan sneered picking up the scalpel, “and this time I’m going to start at the chest and cut my way right to the end.”

Stiles wanted to vomit as he felt Dylan trace his finger from his chest down to his stomach. Everything that he thought he had experienced with Derek and his mother turned out to be a dream. He wanted to cry, but he wasn’t going to allow the sadistic murderer the pleasure of seeing him come apart.

“And please,” he smiled, “do scream because no one will be here to help you this time.”

Stiles started screaming as he felt the scalpel pierce his skin. He wasn’t going to cry out for help because he knew no one was coming. This was not going to end well for him. So he just screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed, hoping the pain would overpower his mind and knock him out.

“Stiles!” he heard his name being shouted.

He was fighting against his restraints but none of them budge.

“Stiles!” he heard again.

Stiles suddenly felt hands gripping him. He was on a bed with hands gripping him and there was a tall muscular body leaning over him. 

“Stiles!”

“Huh? What?” he heaved, “Where am I?”

“You’re in the guest bedroom,” Derek said, his arms still holding onto Stiles, “You were screaming.”

Stiles had to look round before he realised that Derek was right. He was in the guest bedroom at the safe house. He looked down at the strong hands gripping him, then back to Derek’s face. Derek noticed what Stiles was looking at.

“Sorry,” he apologised, releasing Stiles, “I didn’t mean to...”

“It's fine, I should be apologising,” he said, wiping his face, “I'm sorry that I woke you up.”

“Are you okay though?” he asked as he took Stiles’ face in his hands. “You’re pupils are dilated and your heart is hammering.”

“It was just a nightmare,” he sighed, avoiding Derek’s gaze, “A very horrible nightmare...”

Stiles’ heart eventually slowed to its normal pace. Derek was still sitting next to him on the bed just watching him. Stiles looked up into Derek’s face and he recognised the expression on his face - it was one of concern. His dad used to look at him like that.

“Don’t worry about me,” Stiles argued, “I'm a big boy and I can handle myself. Go back to sleep. I'll be fine.”

Derek was going to argue but Stiles had already been through a rough enough night. He needed his rest. He didn’t want to let him sleep by himself but he had no reason to force the issue. It was just one nightmare.

Derek left the room to return to his own down the hall. He had just gone back to sleep when not even a half an hour later, he heard the sounds of screams coming from the room down the passage.

Every single scream went through his body, hearing someone in pain was horrible. He jumped of his bed and ran to Stiles’ room.  Stiles was flailing so erratically that as Derek tried to get close to him, he ended up slogging Derek in the face.

Derek wasn’t too concerned about it, even though he knew it would bruise later.

Eventually, he was able to get Stiles awake.

“Stiles,” Derek started with furrowed eyebrows.

“I'm fine, I promise,” he said breathing heavily.

 “I knew I shouldn’t have let you sleep on your own.”

“It’s okay,” he commented. “I'll be okay, go back to sleep.”

“I am not leaving you alone,” Derek told him. “I would feel a lot better about this if you were within visual distance of me.”

“I swear I'm fine,” he reiterated.

“Either you move into my room or I pick you up and carry you to mine,” Derek spoke, ignoring Stiles’ interruption, “You decide?”

Stiles was about to complain but the look on Derek’s face showed him that he was being serious. He meant every word he said.

Derek had been through a lot. He had lost his friend a few days ago and now the guy, who got pulled into this by Jimmy, was suffering.  Derek felt like he was responsible for what happened to Stiles - he had been kidnapped and tortured because of who he was and he hadn’t even done anything wrong.  Derek could still hear the piercing screams that had come out of Stiles just a few moments ago. The poor guy didn’t even realise how much he was suffering. The look on Stiles’ face showed that he was trying to mask his pain, but he didn't exactly seem to be good at it.  He was having nightmares about being tortured by Jimmy’s killer, someone who happened to look like him - no one needed to experience that.

Stiles stood up, taking his pillow with him. He indicated for Derek to lead the way and followed him out the guest room and into the main bedroom. Stiles couldn’t help but have flashbacks to when they had gotten intimate - his hands on Derek’s back and feeling the muscles underneath them.  Stiles was getting so lost in his own thoughts that eventually he started getting hard. Abruptly pulled from his musings, he quickly moved the pillow over his groin. He didn’t need Derek to see where his mind had been.

“You take the bed, I'll take the floor,” Derek said.

“What?” Stiles spluttered.

“I'll take the floor,” Derek repeated, “You take the bed.”

“That’s just stupid,” Stiles complained, “It's your room, you get the bed.”

“Well, I forced you to share. I'll be fine on the floor.”

Stiles scoffed before turning to Derek, slightly exasperated, “Well, since we can't agree, the bed is big enough for both of us. We'll just have to share.”

“It's fine.”

“It's not fine. Either you sleep on the bed or I sleep on the floor too.”

“Stiles, don’t be stupid,” he complained.

“I can be an idiot too,” he said, cocking an eyebrow.

“Fine, we'll share,” Derek glared at Stiles.

Stiles smirked, triumphantly, as Derek lay down on the part of the bed that he previously occupied, leaving more than enough space for Stiles. Stiles placed his pillow down and settled onto the bed comfortably. Stiles' mind was buzzing with a question and it was by no means an appropriate one. He tried to put it out of his mind as he lay on the bed but his mind wouldn’t let it go. He ended up shifting so much that Derek eventually spoke up.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing.” Stiles deflected, quickly. Perhaps _too_ quickly.

“Stiles,” Derek said sternly.

Stiles sighed, eventually turning around to face Derek.

“How did you know it was me?”

“Huh?”

“When we were...” he said, looking down on the bed they were on.

“Oh,” Derek responded catching on to Stiles’ meaning.

Stiles remained quiet as he waited for Derek to answer him.

“Scar,” he said going red, “He had a scar and when I was touching you I realised that I wasn’t feeling the mark of the scar underneath my fingers.”

Stiles nodded, mentally breathing s sigh of relief.

“Why’d you think about that?”

“Oh, you know, the last time we were in a bed together... so, my mind went there and you know...” he flustered.

Derek nodded.

“Also, I thought that I was so bad in bed that you could tell.”

Stiles only realised what he had said after it left his mouth. He closed his eyes as if he had a brain freeze chastising his honest mouth. He really should have a filter sometimes.

Thankfully Derek laughed at that. Stiles wasn’t actually sure if it was a good thing that he laughed at that or not.

“Forget that I said that,” he muttered turning away from Derek. It was one of those moments that Stiles hoped the earth would open up and swallow him.

Unfortunately, the thought of Derek actually opening up his mouth to swallow his cock had decided to pop up at exactly that moment.

Stiles tried to clear his mind of the thought before he had an issue that he would need to deal with. He managed to calm his heart enough and eventually he was starting to fall asleep when he heard Derek mutter something.

“You were quite amazing actually...” 

Stiles thought that he must have imagined Derek say that, because there was no way that he would have said that voluntarily.

He had probably meant that he was amazingly convincing in his portrayal of Jimmy in the bedroom. No guy in his right mind would use Stiles and ‘amazing’ in the same sentence when it came to sex.

For the rest of the night, Stiles slept without any nightmares or any other disruptions. When he temporarily drifted out of sleep during the night he found his head resting on Derek’s chest, his arm across Derek’s body. Freaking out a bit, Stiles slowly removed his arm and returned to his side of the bed. He had to use all his willpower to forget how comfortable he had felt curled up against Derek before he could get any further sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying the story. Please don't be scared to comment/review. Thanks so much.


	10. Chapter 10

“How are the kids doing?” Storm asked when Lydia came to bed.

“My mother says that they're having the time of their lives,” Lydia said, snuggling closer to Storm. “Mom says that Stydia kept interrupting at the museum to explain everything to the guide as if he were a tourist.”

“She certainly inherited your smarts,” Storm laughed. “Stellan and SJ?”

“Storm Jnr. doesn't want to ever get out of his batman costume and he is constantly dragging grandpa along to watch some type of action movie with them. Stellan is just going along with the flow, making sure his twin brother has some control and doesn't do anything too crazy.”

“Sometimes I think Stellan is the only one able to get through to Storm,” Storm mused.

“You’re telling me.” Lydia laughed for a moment before becoming serious. “I really miss them.”

“Me too,” Storm said, kissing the top of his wife’s head.

“I just want this to be over with so we can go back to having some semblance of a normal life.”

“I think that if everything goes according to plan then it is most certainly a possibility,” Storm reassured.

After they’d gotten the information from Stuart regarding which train stations they would be visiting it just made everything seem that much more real. They went out scoping the place for the third time today to make sure that nothing suspicious was going on. They had to make sure that there wouldn't be anyone monitoring any of the lockers and also made sure to find out if there were any scheduled maintenance taking place that might impact their plans. They had come to the conclusion that it was better for them to do the operation in the morning when the train station would be busier.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to wait behind?” Storm questioned.

Lydia just groaned in response.

“I don’t want to have you in harm’s way,” he continued. “What if something goes wrong?”

“I will not be sitting on the sidelines,” she said, fiercely.

“I don’t know if I would be able to survive you getting hurt in anyway, Lydia,” Storm responded, stroking her face. “The last time you nearly died.”

Storm couldn’t help but think of how close he had come to losing Lydia. When she had told him all about the organisation and that he was a clone, he was in disbelief and thought that she was crazy. He had been heartbroken because she was not the person who he thought she was. Storm rarely let anyone in, because he had been hurt so much along the way. His mother having been a drug-addict and his father a waste-of-space, he had already been let down by so many people. The special ops had trained him to know the people around you and that was what he did. He was extremely careful about those who he let close to him.

When he met Lydia, things were just so different for him though, it was just so easy. She didn’t expect too much from him and she let him be. He thought she was too good to be true so he had her investigated, only to find out that she was clean.

Except that she wasn’t. The organisation had thoroughly made sure that her cover had been insured, which is why when she revealed the truth to him he was in disbelief. He left her because he was so cut up from all the pain. He had to leave to protect himself. Only, before he could really leave, he got a mysterious message and video of how she had been kidnapped by the very organisation that she had been working for.  Watching the video of Lydia bruised and scared made him see red.

 They had underestimated him. They had clearly expected him to come alone. They hadn’t expected Storm to call on a few of his special ops friends to help him. Storm and his friends had managed to overpower the small group of people that had keeping Lydia hostage.

He had expected to see the men-in-black suits, but he didn’t anticipate for them to be as skilled as they were. They had landed a few skilled punches in hand-to-hand combat which, after taking down the third suit, had proven to drain him.

 If he didn’t have the help of his special ops friends he wasn’t sure that he would have made it through to Lydia in time. Only a handful of people knew about his special ops training, and most of them made up the rest of team.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t take out the man holding Lydia hostage with a knife; he stabbed her in the gut before Storm had a chance to do anything. She had nearly died as soon as he got her to his trusted friend, Deaton.

He was a trained physician and, because many of the soldiers had an aversion for hospitals, he would perform minor operations from his own underground make-shift operating room. Lydia’s injuries were serious enough for her to need a hospital, but upon Storm's insistence Deaton had made an exception and ended up saving saved her life.

Storm had been trained well enough to reduce most of the Lydia’s bleeding on the way there, but he still had had to take numerous precautions before getting to Deaton. Storm had changed cars twice, even making sure to avoid all the cameras before he eventually got to his friend. He didn’t want to take any chance of having the organisation track them down.

Deaton had told him that if he had gotten there 5 minutes later she might not have made it.

He had been by Lydia’s side the whole week before she had been strong enough for them to move her. They disappeared after that, starting their new life on the run together. It wasn’t easy.  It took them a while to work out their issues before they had gotten to a place where their relationship was strong but he loved Lydia. He would do anything to protect her.

Staring at her face, it was just so easy to want to lock her up or tie her down so he could try and prevent anything bad from happening to her, but he couldn’t. Lydia was tough, she was forceful, stubborn and headstrong. It was what drew him to her.

She wouldn’t allow herself to be a damsel in distress.

“We are this close to being done with the organisation,” Lydia said, “and I will do everything in my power to ensure that we bring them down. We have lived our lives too long under duress. I know you took a risk by allowing us to settle down in one place so we could start a family, and I love you for doing that, but I just want it all to end.”

“So nothing I say is going to convince you to change your mind?” Storm asked, already knowing her answer.

“No,” she said, leaning over to give him a kiss.

“I love you, Dr. Lydia Martin,” He turned his body toward his wife, kissing her before he eventually rolled her on top of him.

“I love you, too,” she said, lifting up his t-shirt, “If our world ends tomorrow, I want you to know that you have meant everything to me and I can think of no better way of expressing this, than showing you.”

All that Storm and Lydia had had on their minds minutes before, their fears and worries, disappeared as they made love to the person who held their heart.

* * *

Isaac was in bed holding Stephen, his fingers lightly threading through the head resting on his chest.

“You exhaust me,” Stephen mumbled.

“I aim to please,” Isaac said, grinning mischievously.

“Oh, do tell me more,” Stephen cooed.

“Well, I start with the Macarena,” Isaac explained, matter-of-factly, “It always helps me set the mood. Then I continue with the Charleston - you can’t forget to do the Charleston - followed by something I like to call the ‘make you come twice'”.

Stephen started laughing loudly but simultaneously started blushing, kissing Isaac’s abdomen. He couldn’t help but think back to less than 10 minutes ago when Isaac had brought him to climax for a second time that evening. Stephen loved how Isaac was able to do things to his body that made him tremble with pleasure.

“Ready to go again?” Stephen asked, kissing Isaac's nipple.

“Sheesh,” Isaac exaggerated, “I would swear you're trying to kill me with sex.”

“Are there better ways to die?” Stephen questioned, blinking innocently, his intentions plain as day in his voice.

“Give me a moment to get hydrated and then it's on,” he replied, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“Get some water for me, too, while you’re at it,” Stephen said.

Isaac gave Stephen a very long, exhilarating kiss before he got up from the bed. Stephen drank in the magnificent sight of Isaac’s sculptured naked body as he left the room. Stephen quickly leaned over the side of the bed, picked up his phone and pressed redial. He pulled some of the bed sheet with him as he moved onto the balcony hoping that Isaac wasn’t close enough to hear him.

“What did I say about calling me?” Stephen growled into the phone.

 _“You haven't been picking up and we need the information,”_ the voice on the phone replied.

“I’ve had nothing of importance to tell you!”

_“I will decide what’s important and what isn’t.”_

Stephen sighed, before he relented.

“We’ve been scouting the lockers for the time being,” Stephen said, “that was the last directive we got. We've figured out which key belongs to which locker, but nothing else. That is all we have been doing. I assume that soon we will get the go ahead to move on the lockers to see if there is any information for us.”

Stephen took a beat before trying his luck,

“Is there anything in the lockers for us?”

 _“That is not how this works_ ,” the voice spewed. _“You give us information in exchange for your guaranteed freedom. Don’t forget your place.”_

“I am risking my damn life by doing this, Dylan!” Stephen retorted, “If they find out that I'm betraying them, I am as good as dead.”

_“Is your cover still intact?”_

“Yes, they don’t know it was me who sold them out,” Stephen said, “They still believe that the bug I placed in Jimmy’s phone was how you tracked us down.”

 _“Well, then,”_ Dylan sighed, _“Do as you’re told and all will go according to plan.”_

“I can’t believe you messed up the original plan,” Stephen complained, “I should be off with Isaac on some island right now...”

 _“It was not my fault,”_ Dylan griped _. “One of my officers, McCall, was trigger happy, he attacked too early before we were in place.”_

“Just make sure that this all ends soon!”

 _“Don’t think you have the place to tell me what to do,”_ Dylan said _. “If you told me the location of the safe house then I could easily swoop in and collect everyone and then you would have your precious freedom.”_

“I don’t know where the others are,” Stephen practically shouted, “There was a reason why they kept the location of each individual safe house private.”

 _“Then shut up,”_ Dylan attacked _. “Just update me when you get clearer directives.”_

Stephen was left with the sound of the dialling tone ringing in his ear. He hated the thing on the phone with every fibre of his being. It made him want to vomit. He could only imagine the disturbing childhood Dylan must have had growing up. Stephen didn’t have too much time to ponder because a few seconds later he heard Isaac by the balcony door.

“You alright?”

“More than alright,” Stephen said, planting a smile on his face.

“Were you on the phone with someone?” Isaac questioned.

“Oh, no,” Stephen said, going in to kiss him, “Voicemails.”

“You know,” Isaac said, suggestively, “I have a superb idea.”

“I'm sure you do,” Stephen replied, kissing Isaac intently.

“It involves the Macarena, the Charleston and you screaming my name in utter euphoria,” he winked.

“Someone’s cocky.”

“Just you wait till you feel what I can do with my cock-iness,” Isaac teased.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Stephen replied.

Isaac led Stephen back to the bed, kissing him and forcing him to push out thoughts of his impending betrayal and anything else that had been plaguing him. Stephen knew why he was doing what he was doing and he was okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Reviews are love :)
> 
> Thought I would give you a lighter chapter, but still make it relevant to the story! Please comment if you enjoying :) Thanks.


	11. Chapter 11

“You awake?” Derek asked, coming into the room.

“5 more minutes, Dad,” Stiles mumbled.

“Stiles!” Derek repeated, “It’s time to get up!”

“Huh?” he said, swiftly sitting up.

“We gotta get on the road soon,” Derek informed, “I brought you coffee.”

“Oh my god, I looove you,” Stiles responded, drawling out the word love.

Derek just smirked at the young man in front of him.

“You can go shower through here,” Stiles nodded as he saw where Derek pointed. “I'll make us some breakfast.”

“Thanks,” Stiles replied, lazily wiping his face.

Stiles quickly drank his coffee before he got up to shower. He was so groggy that he wasn’t sure what he was doing until he stepped under the ice cold water. Stiles yelped before jumping out of the shower making sure to adjust the water to an appropriate temperature. Stiles quickly got back under the now comfortable spray letting the warm water run down his naked body.

Derek had just finished buttering the toast when he realised that he had left his phone upstairs. Peter had sent him a message late last night saying that he would call in the morning to get an update on how things were on Derek’s side.

Derek entered the room and found his phone on the bed side table. As he turned to leave, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Stiles had left the bathroom door open when he had gone to shower. Derek found himself frozen-still at the sight of Stiles’ naked body in the shower, the see-through shower glass allowing him to see everything.

Derek saw the beauty that was a naked Stiles, the water cascading down his body. Stiles was oblivious to the rest of the world around him as he busied himself with washing his hair. Derek couldn’t believe how gorgeous Stiles looked.

There was something so familiar yet foreign about the scene, he had witnessed Jimmy showering before but this time it was different; he was spellbound as he watched Stiles. Stiles was unique, he had had his fair share of drama and ache but he didn’t let that deter his personality. Stiles had every reason to be depressed and defeated because he had gone through a lot, yet he still found a reason to smile and laugh. He still found the time to crack jokes.

Derek admired that about the guy, he wasn’t oblivious to the extremely deadly situation he was in but he still tried his best to not let the organisation take away his spirit. He had an optimism about him that was infectious. Derek couldn’t help but feel drawn to that; with all the darkness he had experienced in his life, Stiles’ optimistic spirit was slowly winning him over.

Derek gulped when Stiles suddenly started to lather his member. Stiles started stroking gently as the water poured down on him. It was very erotic to watch so much so that Derek couldn’t help but react. He felt the tightening of his jeans as his member started swelling in his underwear.

Derek wanted to do more than watch but he forced himself to tear his eyes away from Stiles and go back to the kitchen to finish up their breakfast. Stiles at least deserved some moments of privacy, particularly after the rough couple of days that he'd had. After leaving the room Derek struggled for a few minutes to refocus his thoughts and calm himself, but eventually he was able to do so.

Derek quickly finished up their breakfast, and even had time to organise a few of the supplies that he would have to take with to Stuart and Peter, when Stiles came into the kitchen for breakfast.

“Nice eggs.”

Derek choked on his juice, “Excuse me?”

“I said that the eggs look yummy,” Stiles smiled. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” Derek muttered.

“Pervert,” Stiles teased.

“Eat your food otherwise I'll leave you behind if you aren’t done.”

“Yes, sir!” Stiles said, enthusiastically, saluting Derek in the process.

Derek rolled his eyes in response.

“In case I forget,” Stiles started, “I just wanted to say thank you for the clothes. They fit perfectly.”

“You'll have to thank Stuart for that. They belong to him.”

Stiles looked at Derek with a lack of comprehension.

“The one with the glasses,” he elaborated, “We left all your clothes behind after the attack. Stuart had the forethought to actually send clothes along for you.”

“Well, I'm grateful for them,” he said.

“Then you can tell him yourself later.”

Just was Derek had finished speaking, his phone rang. He checked the caller I.D before quickly stepping outside to take the call.

 _“Everything all alright?”_ Peter asked.

“It’s fine,” Derek replied.

_“How’s he doing?”_

_“_ He seems to be doing okay,” Derek said, “I would be lying if I said that he was doing great but he seems to be less wired and more relaxed. He told me what happened to him and had a rough time but apparently he has some guardian angels looking out for him.”

 _“Good to know,”_ Peter responded, _“Shall we be expecting you soon?”_

“We’re going to be on our way in a bit.”

“ _Okay,”_ Peter responded, being quiet for a moment before he continued, _“And you?”_

“What about me?”

_“How are you doing?”_

Derek was about to ignore the question, but he realised that his uncle wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t want to know. He sighed audibly before he answered.

“I'm fine,” Derek replied, “It's been hard but we pick ourselves up and carry on. There are more pressing things on hand for you, for us, to worry about, the one thing you don’t need to worry about is me.”

 _“Good to know,”_ Peter said. _“I'll see you later then.”_

“Bye.”

Derek returned to the kitchen to find Stiles sitting with the briefcase open at the table where he had been eating his breakfast.

“Who was that?” Stiles questioned, glancing at Derek.

“Peter,” Derek replied. “Just phoning to find out if everything is still okay.”

“Was that the sassy one?” Stiles replied, “The one with the snide remarks and who ultimately spoke about not wanting to kill me yet?”

“Yes,”

“Okay,” Stiles replied, returning to the contents in his hand.

Derek came around to look at exactly what Stiles was staring at, “Is that the briefcase your mother gave you?”

“Yup,” Stiles answered, “I quickly ran up to get it, but I can’t exactly make sense of it all. It’s gibberish to me.”

“Stuart knows someone who can help,” Derek responded. “She's one of the people that he trusts most, they’ve known each other for years. Isaac and I managed to meet her once. She’s extremely smart so I'm sure she can help us with all of this.”

“That’s good,” Stiles sighed.

Stiles and Derek settled into a momentary silence for a few minutes.

“Uh, I'm done so if you’re done then we can get going,” Derek said.

Derek and Stiles cleared up the place before they started loading the car. Derek had packed in the necessary supplies that would be needed for their upcoming operation.

“What is in here?” Stiles moaned, picking up one of the bags and putting it in the boot of the car, “It’s fucking heavy.”

“Guns and ammunition,” Derek replied. “Jimmy and I made sure that we were stocked up in case we needed to get away at a moment’s notice, so I thought it would be better to bring it along just in case.”

 Stiles nodded as the reality of their situation dawned on him once again. He was in a life or death situation and he couldn’t even really defend himself. He hated that feeling, especially after what he recently had experienced with Dylan. He hated that feeling of being defenceless and not being able to do anything except accept fate. Stiles never wanted to feel like that again.

“Teach me,” he said, suddenly.

“What?”

“Teach me how to shoot a gun,” Stiles repeated.

Derek was about to object until he looked directly at Stiles. He could see the raw emotion on his face. Derek knew that Stiles didn’t want to do this for fun, he wanted to learn because he wanted to be able to defend himself and, really, who could blame the guy?

“Once we get to Peter and Stuart,” Derek replied after a moment, “We'll practice then.”

Stiles nodded in agreement before getting the last of the bags. They climbed into the car, ready to take the road and tackle whatever awaited them.

* * *

“You know this is a lot less weird than I thought it would be,” Stiles stated, firmly grasping Stuart’s hand, “I guess getting tortured by your doppelganger kind of makes everything else that more manageable.”

“I can only imagine,” Stuart replied.

“Well, isn’t this sweet,” Peter commented, “Your average official meeting between clones.”

“Oh, you know,” Stiles piped up, “Rather that than meeting your clones bound to a chair as they contemplate whether to kill you or not?”

Stiles was met with an awkward silence in response to his attempted joke.

“I’m teasing,” Stiles said eventually, “Lighten up guys.”

“I might just like you yet,” Peter commented.

“This may be the start of a beautiful friendship,” Stuart said.

“Don’t push it,” Peter deadpanned.

“If you are all done with introductions,” Derek interjected, “I would really like some help getting the things from the car.”

Everyone left to help unpack the bags that Derek had brought with him. Stiles retrieved the briefcase his mother had given him as the rest of them took the bags from the boot.

“Wow, how helpful of you,” Peter stated, monotonously, watching Stiles make his way inside with the briefcase.

“I have PTSD and an injured arm,” Stiles retorted, smiling innocently.

“Convenient,” Peter grumbled, rolling his eyes.

When they finished bringing everything inside they finally settled down in the lounge. Stuart had propped his laptop up on the table in front of the couch he was sitting on, practically disappearing from sight as he busied himself with something furiously. Peter was sitting on the sofa next to Stuart while Derek hovered behind the sofa that Stiles was sitting on. He seemed to hover a lot.

“So what have we missed?” Derek started.

“How much have you told Stiles?”

“How much of what?”  Stiles asked.

“Nothing,” Derek said, “Not sure how much you wanted me to tell so I decided to leave it up to you.”

“Stuart did some investigating on the set of keys you had when we questioned you. We figured out that every number on a key correlated with a number of a locker at various train stations in nearby towns. We conducted surveillance on the lockers and so far they seem to be isolated without anything or anyone suspicious lurking around. No possible threats either. Everyone else has been conducting their own research so that we could note where there have been similarities in our data. Storm and Isaac have reported the same thing. Now that you're back we're ready to move on to the next phase,” Peter explained.

“What about the two keys that were left over?” Stiles asked.

“You have a sharp memory.”

“It works when it wants to,” he shrugged.

“Well, Stuart and I had to look out for all three of the lockers. One of them was at a station close to the locker we were assigned to monitor but unfortunately the other locker is located at a train station in a neighbouring town,” Peter started, “which we’ve been unable to monitor...”

“... so I’ve been accessing the security camera feeds nearby the stations,” Stuart added, “to allow us a visual on the lockers so we could see what is going on...”

“...but if there are people watching the lockers that are aware of the cameras, it means that we have no clue if the organisation is watching them or not,” Derek concluded.  

“How long have you three been rehearsing that?” Stiles asked with a grin, “Must have taken a lot of practice, hey? Be honest.”

“Focus, Stiles,” Derek reprimanded, before rolling his eyes.

“Right,” he nodded.

“So do you want me and Stiles to check it out tomorrow?” Derek asked.

“Stuart and I can handle the two, but we need someone for the third.  We don’t want to take a chance by leaving any stone unturned because if all the information happens to be in the locker we haven’t checked... Well, it would mean that-”

“We’re screwed,” Stuart finished.

 “How far away is the train station?”

With a few strokes on the keyboard Stuart was able to show them the location of the train station that Derek and Stiles would stakeout.

“It’s about an hour’s train ride to get to the station,” Stuart explained, “It’s quicker to take the train than to travel by car.”

“So it’s settled,” Peter said.

Everyone just nodded in agreement.

“Now then,” Stuart stated, “can we address the elephant in the room?”

“Yes,” Stiles sighed, sombrely, “Sorry to disappoint you but I am the more attractive one.”

Derek couldn’t help but laugh at the remark, before he removed any evidence of it. Peter glared at Stiles seemingly unimpressed.

“Keep dreaming, buster,” Stuart laughed.

Stiles eventually realised that they were waiting for him to say something.

“Uh,” he spluttered, “oh, right.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have everyone present?” Derek interrupted. “It would save Stiles from having to repeat himself.”

“How do you feel about that, Stiles?” Peter asked. Stiles was clearly nervous but he nodded.

Stuart’s hand flew over his keyboard and not even few minutes later he had everyone present. He placed the laptop on the table so he could fit himself and Peter in view of the camera. Derek was still standing nearby Stiles while Stuart got the formalities out of the way.

“Hey, everyone,” Stuart greeted.

“Hi,” they chorused.

“What is up, Stu?” Storm teased.

“Don’t call me that otherwise I _will_ mute you,” Stuart complained.

“Calm down, big boy,” Storm laughed.

“So what is it?” Stephen asked.

“We have something very important to discuss.”

“Is something wrong?” Stephen asked.

“No, actually, the opposite,” Peter added, “After our conference two days ago Derek got a call on Stiles’ phone-“

“The awkward clone who died in front of us?” Isaac asked.

“Yes, Isaac,” Peter sighed, “that one.”

 “What was the call about?” Lydia questioned.

Stiles got up and moved to sit next to Stuart on the already crowded sofa. Derek moved to stand behind them. The looks of the faces on the screen was one of shock; they were apparently at a total loss of words if the complete silence said anything.

“Hey, everybody,” Stiles said, smiling sheepishly, “It’s the clone who died in front of you. Not too bad for a dead guy, right?”

More silence.

“How?” Lydia asked, eventually.

Stiles started recounting the story. He was careful not to mention the identity of his friends or his mother who had been the ones to help him - he simply told them that the people working with Jimmy had helped him escape. Stiles didn’t know whether he could trust these people with the information that his rescuer was actually his "back-from-the-dead" mother. Or, well, she had never been dead, had she? He imagined that telling them that his mother, who had faked her death to protect him, was the one who had been working with Jimmy and was orchestrating the entire operation to bring down the organisation would not go well.

He got to the part of being given the briefcase and then placed it in front of him on the table, opening it up and bringing it into view so that everyone could see.

“This is why I’m alive,” Stiles said, as he took out the two bottles and the specialised gun with one bottle already in place. “It's a new drug that the organisation has been working on; it slows your heart-rate to appear as if you're near death just as a means to incapacitate you for some time. It’s not a perfect science - it puts you in some form of suspended animation. They inject you with adrenaline in order to revive you.”

Stiles then pulled out the unlabelled bottle his mother had given him before pulling out the gun, that she had given him, next.

“This is the hand gun version; a sniper version was used to take me out,” Stiles continued, pulling out the handgun, “Jimmy’s inside person also gave me some more information that should help us bring down the organisation. I'm not able to make anything out of it but, according to Derek, you apparently might know someone who does, Stuart?”

Stuart leaned in to pick up a folder that was within the briefcase.

“I do have a friend who can help us make sense of this,” he explained, “Cosima is busy studying for her PhD in Experimental Evolutionary Development Biology and from what I gather this may be exactly up her alley. I've known her ever since she just started out as an intern working for my mom. I trust her with this information.  I can get in contact with her, see what she has to say?”  

 “That would be awesome,” Stiles said.

“I'll get in touch with her as soon as possible,” Stuart said.

“Stuart, would you also send me copies of the documents?” Stephen asked.

“Will do.”

“So, basically, in a nutshell, that is how I came back from the dead,” Stiles said, feeling slightly exhausted.

“How do we know that you didn’t make all that up?” Storm questioned.

“Is he always this sceptical?” Stiles asked, looking at Stuart.

“Pretty much.”

“He nearly died escaping,” Derek piped up in Stiles’ defence. “We were being shot at, and they were shooting to kill.”

“Also, I doubt I would cut into my own skin with a scalpel,” Stiles said, showing his bandaged wrist. “I’m awkward, not deranged.”

Storm just nodded, reluctantly accepting what he was being told as the truth.

“Do you have any clue when we're going to put the operation into work?” Stephen questioned.

“Within the next three days,” Peter said. “Be prepared; just keep scouting the lockers for the time being. If anything else comes up I'll let you know.”

* * *

Stiles was standing outside by himself. He was feeling overwhelmed by everything that he had gone through. He had to have a few minutes to himself before he lost his mind. He wished he wasn’t in the predicament that he was in but there was nothing he could do about it. He was grateful for discovering that his mother was alive but he just wished that it had been under better circumstances. 

“You okay?” Derek asked, coming to stand close to Stiles.

“Uh, yeah,” he said, wiping his hand over his face, “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Derek frowned.

“Yeah, it’s been a rough couple of days,” Stiles smiled, weakly, “I will be good as new in a bit.”

“Okay.”

Derek realised that Stiles was the type who didn’t wallow in despair. He had a very rough couple of days yet he still had the strength to continue - just kept going. Stiles was still able to smile even though he had no reason to. Even if the smile was forced.

“Do you still want to learn how to fire a gun?”

“You still up for teaching me?” Stiles asked, tentatively, “Aren’t you scared that I’ve been playing dumb the whole time only to turn around and kill you?”

“I’m sure you would have killed me by now if that were the case,” Derek commented, “So how about it?”

“Let's do this.”

Derek went to place empty cans spread out in front of Stiles. They only had the woods around them so he didn’t have to worry about shooting anyone by accident. He returned to Stiles’ side not too long after.

“You are going to have to hit the cans, okay?”

“Got it.”

Derek pulled out the gun.

“The gun has a safety that prevents it from being fired unintentionally, you are going to have to take it off its safety by doing this,” Derek showed Stiles. Stiles was listening intently as Derek was explaining all the different parts of the gun to Stiles including any other information that he needed to know before firing the gun.

“Do you understand?”

Stiles recited everything that Derek had told him verbatim. Derek was gobsmacked.

“I didn’t mean for you to repeat everything to me word for word,” Derek said, clearly impressed.

“Just wanted to show you how serious I am about this,” Stiles replied.

“Noted.”

Stiles finally took the gun from Derek.

“You want to have your feet evenly spaced apart; don’t put your finger on the trigger until you have to shoot. Make sure the safety is off then aim, and when you're ready gently squeeze the trigger.”

Stiles followed Derek’s instructions as he aimed at one of the cans, missing it by a small margin.

“Not bad,” Derek voiced.

“That was abysmal,” Stiles said, despondently, “I didn’t even hit the target.”

“Stiles, you can’t expect to hit the target the first time round.”

“You know,” Stiles started, “my dad was reluctant to teach me how to use a gun. After nagging him for years he eventually relented and told me he'd teach me for my 17th birthday but then... he died before we could get to it. I never wanted to touch a gun after that.”

 “I'm sorry,” he said.

“It’s fine,” Stiles replied, “He was a cop; putting his life in danger came with the territory. I knew that.”

Stiles tried firing the gun again, this time hitting the branch right next to the can. At least he wasn’t too far off.

“You’re too tense. You're thinking too much,” Derek commented, coming to stand behind Stiles.

Suddenly Stiles was very aware of his own body. Derek stepped in, his body so close to Stiles' that he could feel Derek’s chest rising against his back. Derek placed his hands over Stiles raising the gun to aim at the can.

“Relax, Stiles,” Derek instructed.

Easier said than done when you have a hot body pressed up against you, Stiles thought.

Eventually Stiles was relaxed enough to take the shot. Derek’s hand kept his in place while he let Stiles pull the trigger. Stiles hit the can, knocking it over from the force. His hands were trembling slightly underneath Derek’s, as the realisation of what he accomplished hit him. Stiles beamed at the fact that he shot the can at all.

 “Thank you,” Stiles said.

“I didn’t do anything,” Derek replied, stepping away from Stiles. “That was all you.”

“Yeah, right,” Stiles laughed.

He was about to nudge Derek, but misjudged the gap. He put too much force in the gesture, causing him to slip. He watched as Derek extended a helping hand and gripped it tightly in one of his own, in an attempt to stop his fall, but the force of it all just pulled Derek down with him.

Stiles was surprised that Derek had fallen down as well, putting him in an awkward situation with the man whose body was tightly pressed up against his. The unexpected weight of Derek forced the air to rush out his lungs.  He quickly inhaled, in hopes of filling his lungs with much needed oxygen, but was thrown off guard by how wonderful Derek smelled.

Stiles could feel the heat radiate off Derek due to their close proximity. He laughed at the predicament they were in, noticing the smile at the corner of Derek’s lips - the only tell of his amusement.

He couldn’t help but think of Derek’s lips - the taste of them, the feel of them against his. Derek’s face was close enough that Stiles could easily have closed the gap and given in to the thought. He glanced into Derek’s eyes, seeing something that he couldn’t decipher. A part of Stiles wondered if he had had the same thought. Stiles seriously doubted that.

Stiles and Derek stayed in the position for a second longer than necessary, before Derek started moving.

“Sorry about that,” Stiles said sheepishly.

“It's fine,” Derek replied.

There was a moment of silence between them, no one sure of what to say. Derek eventually broke the silence, bringing Stiles’ attention back to what they were doing before.

“I bet,” he started, “that you can hit the second can all by yourself. I'll stand off to the side then you can take the shot and see for yourself.”

Stiles focused his mind.

 He employed everything that Derek had taught him, took a moment to breathe, and then fired the gun at the second can. To Stiles’ surprise he hit it, watching as it fell to the ground next to the first one.

“Wow,” was all Stiles could say.

“Seriously, Stiles,” Derek said. “You did that. Don’t underestimate yourself.”

Stiles felt himself go slightly red under Derek’s gaze. He quickly positioned himself again to shoot the last can, not even a matter of seconds later the can had a bullet hole through it.

Stiles and Derek kept practicing outside till the sunlight had vanished and it had become too dark for them to see anything. Stiles was proud of himself - he hadn’t hit the can every single time, but he had hit them more often than not. He felt more confident about his capabilities and a little less scared about not being able to defend himself.

He hoped that he wouldn’t need to use his newly acquired skill in the coming days, but anything could happen and he was one step closer to being more prepared for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this fic. I hope you are still enjoying it. Please don't be scared to comment. Let me know what you think.
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful beta, 11 chapters in and we are still going strong. Who needs boyfriends when we will always have our beloved fanfiction? :P Lol.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, my beta pointed out that I may be asking for little too much “suspension of disbelief” with the few inconsistencies but my plan for this was something not too intricate but somehow the story just developed. I understand that I may lose readers because of some of these inconsistencies. I just wanted to give everyone a fic where they could have some iteration of their Stiles/whoever pairing but little did I know how hectic that would be. Especially as this was my first fic ever.

“We need to make a move soon,” Storm said, starting the car, “Too much time has passed, we’re bound to draw attention from the organisation sooner rather than later.”

“You’re right, it isn’t ideal,” Lydia replied, “but hopefully all of this will be over soon and then we can get back to our kids.”

“I wonder what they're...” Storm trailed off, his attention focused on whatever he saw in the rear view mirror.

“What?” Lydia asked, looking at her husband, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said as they came to a stop sign, “I thought I saw something.”

“You sure?”

Storm turned left at the stop sign, testing a theory – a theory he hoped was wrong.

“You took the wrong turn off,” Lydia said, “It was left at the _next_ stop sign.”

Storms eyes were focused on his side mirror and it wasn’t until he saw a black SUV turn at the same stop sign he did, that he realised his suspicions were correct.

“Dammit,” he cursed, glancing in the rear-view mirror once again.

“Storm,” Lydia pressed, “What is it?”

“We might have a tail,” Storm answered.

“ _What_?” she said, looking in her side-mirror.

It was quite easy to spot the black SUV that was following them turn after turn. The car wasn’t too close to them but it was definitely tailing them.

“What are we going to do?” Lydia asked, trying to keep a level head.

“We're going to have to lose them,” Storm replied.

“What if they know where the safe house is?” Lydia suggested, “We can’t risk going back there.”

“They would have ambushed us while we were at the safe house instead of following us like this now if they knew where it was,” Storm said, “Call Stuart and Peter. We'll have to tell them what's going on, maybe they've already thought of a plan if something like this happened.”

Lydia called Stuart, placing the phone on speaker just as it started to ring, while Storm continued to check whether those tailing them were still behind them or not.

“Hi, Lydia,” Stuart cheerily answered, “What can I do you for?”

“We have people following us. Did you or Peter ever come up with any sort of extraction plan?”

“What? How?” he spluttered, Lydia picking up on the extra background noise as Stuart put the phone on speaker.

“We don't know. We were on our way back from checking on our locker and Storm noticed that we were being tailed,” Lydia explained. “The people following us don’t seem to know that we're aware of them. We were hoping that you and Peter thought of something - a plan of some sort - that would help us before we do anything that could result in something potentially dangerous.”

“Do they know where your safe house is?” Peter asked, his voice carrying over the speaker.

“Lydia suggested that they might but I don't think they do. Though, the possibility alone is cause for concern for all of us especially since we don’t know how long they’ve been following us. We definitely can't go back there. We would basically be giving the location to them on a silver platter. And finding our safe house could lead to finding the others too.”

“Okay,” Peter replied, “Lose the tail and let us know when you've done so. As soon as we know you're out of immediate danger we'll send you the address to our safe house. It’s a risk but right now we'll have to take it.”

“Okay,” Lydia said. “We'll call you as soon as we can.”

“Good luck, guys,” Stuart said.

“Stay alive,” Peter said, before the phone called ended.

“You ready to lose them?” Storm asked.

“Let’s do this,” Lydia responded, grabbing onto her seatbelt.

Storm floored the gas pedal, signalling the start of the chase.

* * *

“Everybody prepared for today?” Peter asked.

“We’re all set,” Storm said.

“Us too,” Isaac added.

“Good.”

Everyone was nervous - Stiles could feel the butterflies in his stomach, putting him on edge.

Honestly, Stiles felt unprepared. After conducting surveillance for only two days he didn’t feel as confident as the rest of them. Not that the confidence levels were very high, regardless. Derek agreed that it may have been too soon to launch the operation, as they barely had enough time to scope out the locker, but he had to admit that Peter had a solid argument for not wanting to wait any longer.

Everyone else had been scouting their lockers for close to a week and they were bound to be drawing attention sooner or later. Their window of opportunity to accomplish this without getting caught was closing. They had to act quickly and Stiles understood that. He didn’t want to be responsible for holding up the operation. So, when Derek asked him if he would be ready to go through with the plan the following day, he agreed.

Stiles was barely able to sleep that night. He was too worried about how things were going to turn out. He had a feeling that something would go wrong but he tried his best to ignore it and just attributed it to his extra-cautious state lately.

During his and Derek's stakeouts, he had struggled to feel at ease. The poor guy had had to put up with a hyper-vigilant Stiles for most of the first day - talk about torture.

They had scouted out the location of the locker and spent the two days waiting for any sign of trouble. Stiles had been somewhat weary and he wasn’t being his usual talkative self. In the end, Derek had done majority of the surveillance while Stiles had accidentally fallen asleep for a couple of hours. Stiles had been having restless nights ever since he escaped from the organisation, yet on the stakeouts with Derek he found himself sleeping quite peacefully. He apologised for it, but Derek said he didn’t mind. The rest of the time, while Stiles was awake, he kept pointing out suspicious people to which, after the 12th person in a hoodie, Derek just started rolling his eyes.

“Who’s to say that I can’t be a dangerous psychopath cloaked in _my_ hoodie?” Stiles deadpanned.

“Whatever you say, red riding hood.”

“If I’m red riding hood, then are you the big, bad wolf?” Stiles teased.

“Only if you want me to be,” Derek said, turning his head to look at Stiles, that annoying - okay, sexy - smirk gracing his face and turning Stiles into a stuttering mess.

The whole day had flown by extremely fast after that. Their second day passed by as quickly, which is what made Stiles a bit anxious about today.

“Don’t forget we’re all meeting at 9am sharp to discuss what we have or haven't found in the lockers,” Peter stated, bringing Stiles' attention back to the present, “Stuart will text the address of our safe house once you and Stephen have left the station, Isaac.”

“Why are we meeting at your safe house?” Isaac asked. “Wouldn’t it be better for us to share the information like we’re doing now? Via the conference chat?”

“Lydia and Storm are already here after what happened last night,” Peter answered, “You may as well make your way here. That way we’re all together when we see the information. Just make sure you aren’t being followed.”

“Do they know how the organisation found out about them?” Stephen asked.

“They must have been lucky,” Lydia said. “Storm thinks they would've attacked us if they knew where we were before so they most likely caught onto us while we were at the lockers and decided to see if we would lead them to everyone else.”

“Are you sure that this is safe though?” Isaac questioned. “What if this is exactly what they want? Everyone in one place?”

“Well it was the only option we had last night,” Stuart said, “After Lydia and Storm got here we waited and checked if anything would happen, and whether or not the organisation would come sweeping in to attack us but no one came. Peter and Derek did a thorough search of the grounds last night as well. I also hacked some of those wonderful satellites flying around out there and got a bird's eye view of our surrounding location. There didn't seem to be any suspicious activity.”

“Also,” Peter added, “it may give us a chance to regroup. This may be the last time we see one another. We planned to disappear before Stiles stole focus at our last meeting and we found out about the keys.”

Stiles sunk down into his seat, hoping to avoid Peter’s gaze.

Everything that was being discussed was important and Stiles _was_ listening but he was so tired that his brain was struggling to focus on what was being said. Stiles took a deep breath, inhaling the aroma of his coffee. Peter had made sure they were up at 5am for a last minute meeting to go over the final details before the plan was executed. Stiles felt that it was unnatural for him to be awake at this time of morning.

“Why didn’t you bribe him with sex?” Stiles complained, under his breath, to Stuart.

“You don’t think I tried?” Stuart whispered, looking just as dead as Stiles, “Once Peter commits it’s difficult to break his resolve. Occasionally I accomplish that but that, in itself, is a rarity.”

“You should have tried harder,” Stiles said, a bit too loudly.

“Anything you want to add?” Peter said, making Stiles feel like he was back in Mr Harris’ class getting busted for talking.

“Uh,” Stiles flushed, “You’re a mastermind.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Peter sassed.

“Sometimes I get really gassy when I-”

“It was rhetorical, Stiles.”

“Oh, I knew that. I was just...” Stiles drifted off.

“May I continue?”

Stiles just nodded, silently.

“Wow,” Stuart quietly commented to Stiles, “Totally smooth.”

“Shut up,” Stiles playfully retorted, “I’m still half-asleep.”

Stuart just laughed at that.

Time passed quickly and in no time everyone was departing. After Storm and Lydia left, Stiles and Derek were standing outside saying goodbye to Peter and Stuart. The four of them were prepared and ready to depart for their lockers. There was a sense of uncertainty between them - an uncertainty about whether they would be able to accomplish their mission, whether they would return, and whether or not they were maybe just wasting their time on a wild goose chase. Stiles hoped that none of this was for nothing and that they would return perfectly unharmed, but the pit in his stomach was less inclined to make him belief that.

“Be safe,” Peter said to Derek.

Derek nodded in affirmation, while also wishing Peter the same thing. Peter nodded in acknowledgement.

Stiles was very impressed with the level of communication they were able to achieve. There clearly had to be a deep appreciation and history between them if they could speak with only nods. That was some deep level conversing between the two men - saying something while not saying a thing. You only develop such a shorthand with the truly important people in your life.

“Watch his back,” Stiles told Peter, as he gestured at Stuart, “he’s too pretty to die.”

Stuart just smiled as Peter rolled his eyes.

“Same goes for you,” Stuart mentioned to Derek, “I like this one.”

Stuart and Stiles shook hands before they went off to their respective cars. Initially, Stiles didn’t know what Stuart would be like... well, he _knew_ but he didn’t know the guy well enough to know if they would get along. Thankfully, Stuart was a pretty cool guy; they actually had a lot in common with each other. Stiles had discovered that in the, albeit short, amount of time they had spent together these few days. He really hoped that today wasn’t the last time he would see the guy.

“You ready?” Derek asked once they were seated and strapped in the car.

“About as ready as I’ll ever be,” Stiles sighed.

* * *

_We’ve got the package._

That was the message Stephen had texted to Stuart once Isaac had returned to the car with a very thick envelope. It didn’t take long before he got the text with the address for the meet-up. Stephen quickly forwarded the message to Dylan before Isaac could see.

Stephen’s mind was going back and forth about what would be waiting for them once they arrived at the safe house. He was barely concentrating on anything else that was happening around him. Unsurprisingly, Isaac was able to sense his partner’s tension.

“You okay?” Isaac asked. “You’ve been quiet the entire ride.”

“Just anxious to get this all out of the way and find out what exactly the envelope has in store for us,” Stephen said, forcing a smile.

“Don’t worry,” Isaac said, taking Stephen’s one hand and bringing it to his lips, “Soon this will all be over and we'll be on a tropical island somewhere.”

Stephen couldn’t help but honestly smile at the image. It made him happy to think about a future with Isaac on some island, the sea glistening around them as they lived in total care-free bliss. It was that very reason why he was doing what he was doing - so that they could have a guaranteed future together.

Not much longer after their chat Isaac pulled up to the house. They didn’t see any other cars around which meant they were probably the first to arrive.

“Looks like we’re the first ones here,” Isaac said.

Stephen’s nerves were officially frayed. He knew that once they got out of the car everything would change. He always worried about whether he was making the right decision but now fear was part of the equation too. He pushed the feelings aside in hopes of having a few minutes of alone with Isaac.

“You know I love you, right?” Stephen said, suddenly turning to Isaac and holding his gaze.

“I do,” Isaac answered. “And I hope that you know that I love you too.”

Stephen smiled minutely, leaning over to kiss Isaac softly. Stephen moaned, quietly, as Isaac slid his hand through his hair, his fingers massaging the back of Stephen's neck every few seconds as if he were trying to relieve the tension that Stephen just couldn't manage to release. The kiss seemed to extend forever, carrying Stephen off into an idyllic bliss. Unfortunately that bliss came to an abrupt end when the car doors were yanked open, people pulling them apart and bringing them around to the front of the car.

They were surrounded by a bevy of men all dressed in black suits, their guns on Stephen and Isaac. Isaac’s face displayed his confusion at what was happening. He tried fighting them off but they quickly overpowered him. Stephen hadn't even bothered putting up a fight, knowing that resistance was futile.

“Which one are you?” a man spewed, looking at Stephen.

“No one of importance to you,” Isaac interjected.

The man moved quickly, punching Isaac in the stomach.

“Leave him alone!” Stephen shouted, and clenching his eyes shut he softly told them his name.

“Is that the one?” the man asked to another behind him.

“Yes, Gerard,” Dylan replied.

“Ah,” Gerard regarded, “You’re the one who's been helping us then?”

“You’re lying,” Isaac growled.

“You truly are a man in love to be oblivious to what’s in front of you,” Gerard smirked, “If it weren't so pathetic, your valiant attempt to protect the honour of your beloved would truly be admirable.”

“You can tell all the lies you want,” Isaac bit back, “I know Stephen would never betray us like that.”

“Well then why has Stephen been _so_ co-operative in helping us set this whole ambush up?” Dylan said with faux innocence.

“You’re wrong,” Isaac said, violently shaking his head.

Isaac looked at Stephen expecting him to say something but he didn’t. Isaac's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his silence.

"Why aren't you saying anything?”

Isaac waited for Stephen to say something but when he didn’t it was the crack in the glass that signalled the start of the end.

“You see?” Gerard taunted.

“You’re lying!” Isaac repeated, shouting this time.

Gerard punched Isaac in the face.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t raise your voice at me,” Gerard said, calmly, his voice malevolent. Once he'd gotten his point across he turned his attention back to Stephen.

“We’re grateful for your co-operation. It really has been invaluable.”

Stephen remained silent, avoiding all of their gazes as Gerard spoke.

Isaac didn’t want to believe it; as much as he tried to convince himself that the man was lying, the expression on Stephen’s face only added fuel to the fire of doubt that Gerard had started. Even if they had got Stephen’s help, he was certain that it wasn’t willingly.

However, Stephen’s silence was a punch to the gut that Isaac didn’t see coming. He was the one who had betrayed them; he was the one who had put the life of the others above that of his own. The man he loved had turned out to be the man who hurt them all. It was devastating. Isaac was devastated.

Stephen could feel Isaac’s eyes on him. He didn’t want to give in to the temptation of looking at him, but in the end, he couldn't help himself. The betrayal and hurt etched so clearly on Isaac’s face hurt him more than he could have imagined. The fact that he couldn't bear to look the man he loved in the face was more damning to their relationship than anything Stephen could have said.  

“Sir, sorry to interrupt,” Dylan said, “We have word that another car is on its way here. What would you like to do?”

“We'll position ourselves in the house and lure the others in. Have a few men stationed outside hidden away as a preventative measure. If the others try to run, shoot them with Dr. Stilinski’s serum. These clones have evaded me for far too long,” Gerard ground out, before turning to Stephen and Isaac, “Gag these two and put them in the house. We'll move them once we’ve acquired every single one of them.”

* * *

Stiles couldn’t believe how well the mission went.

He had expected a bomb to go off when Derek opened the locker, but thankfully no such thing happened. He kept checking around him, making sure that no one would come out, guns blazing, and thankfully no one had.

Stiles’ worry about something going wrong turned out to be for nothing. Everything had gone smoothly and now they were on their way back to Peter and Stuart’s safe house to meet up with everyone.

Everyone had safe houses in different locations but according to Derek they were all in the same state just spaced out all across in nearby towns. No one except Peter knew where everyone’s safe house location was. They had decided that having only one person know would be better in case something went wrong. If one of the clones and their bodyguards were unresponsive for 24 hours then Peter would intervene.

Upon Derek’s instruction, Stiles texted Stuart to notify them that they would be a bit late because of the train delay. He hadn’t received a reply yet but he assumed Stuart or Peter would have contacted them had anything been problematic.

“What do you think it is?” Stiles asked, looking at the folder in his lap.

“I don’t know,” Derek said. “Peter wanted to wait till we were all together before anyone looked inside.”

“Derek,” Stiles started, “I understand that you want to wait for everyone _but_ this was dangerous enough for Jimmy to get killed over. Aren’t you the least bit interested to find out what they’ve been hiding?”

Stiles waited for Derek to raise his guard; those walls he always put up to hide his emotions. To Stiles’ surprise Derek didn’t put up those walls.

Stiles felt bad for mentioning Jimmy, but he was here _because_ of the man. He didn’t blame him; he was in fact, somewhat, grateful for what the man did. If Jimmy had left him alone on that night, Stiles could have died. Jimmy had opened his eyes to what was really going on around him. It was by pure coincidence that he met the guy and, as scared as he was for his life, he would do it all again if he could. Jimmy died and had trusted Stiles to survive because the freedom of everyone depended on it. Stiles felt an obligation to Jimmy, himself and the others, to follow through with this.

Stiles couldn’t wait for Derek to answer. He grabbed the thick envelope and tore it open. It took Stiles a moment to realise the significance of what he had discovered.

“What?” Derek asked. “Stiles, what is it?”

“We aren’t the only ones.”

“What do you mean _'we aren’t the only ones'_?”

“I mean, according to this,” Stiles said, as he counted the number of sleeves in the folder, “there are clones all over the world. There seems to be multiple groups of different people. Do you know what this means? It means they have a reach way beyond our wildest expectations. We're just one group in one small part of the world being experimented on.”

Derek still didn’t say anything.

Stiles kept paging and came across something even more horrific.

“Oh my god,” Stiles uttered.

“What is it?” Derek prodded.

“They're also selling the clones off to private scientific corporations or using them for experiments. They're either using the clones for testing dangerous scientific experiments or using them in tests and experiments that are considered illegal and unethical. Fuck. We’re just mice being used by scientists.”

Derek couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He didn’t know any of this was happening, after all his time with these people. He thought that they were just monitoring people and documenting the results from the clones’ tests for research and nothing more, not doing something as disgusting and inhumane as using them as human lab rats for their twisted experiments.

Derek felt sick; he was just as guilty as the organisation that he had been working for. Doing nothing and never questioning anything. He had indirectly played a part in Jimmy’s death. All this information that Stiles had just told him left him in disbelief.

“Everyone,” Stiles continued, “is being used for financial gain by these people. There is one private company that takes clones and sells their organs on the black market. They are murdering these poor people.”

“We have to stop them,” Derek finally spoke, “All of them.”

“And soon,” Stiles added. “To think that so many people have already died because of this... so many people _will_ die because of this. Yet these vultures are still in business, still getting away with it. How are they doing it?”

“I don’t know,” Derek answered, “but we have to figure out a way to stop this. Permanently.”

Derek quickly pulled up into the driveway of the meeting place, noticing that they were the last to arrive. Stiles and Derek quickly got out of the car and started making their way to the house.

However, Stiles couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

It was unusually quiet; there were no birds chirping or any other sounds. He stopped in his tracks to listen. This caused Derek, who was behind him, to nearly collide with him. Stiles thought that it was strange that it was so eerily quiet but maybe it was just the chill in the air. Everything had been going well; he was just being overly-anxious. Right?

Stiles walked into the house first when he suddenly saw Lydia, Storm, Isaac, Stephen, Stuart and Peter all gagged with their hands tied behind their backs, sitting on the couch. Immediately his survival instinct kicked in. Unfortunately for Stiles he didn’t have enough time to react.

He caught onto the implication of the scene before him. Was this the organisation’s plan all along? Was he responsible for this? What if they had been tracking him since his escape? This was not a good sign, something must have gone wrong. He couldn’t have been responsible for this, could he?

Stiles was about to turn, ready to start fighting but instead he felt something hard hit him causing him to collapse onto the floor - and then all he could remember was darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the long delay between chapters. University has been so demanding. But yay Chapter 12 is finally up! :) 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts. Comment/Review. I promise to try my best with improving on the inconsistencies. The other chapters are written, they just need to be edited and dusted off.  
> If you want to connect with me: www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com is the place to do so.  
> Thanks to my beta for everything.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being captured by Inner Vitality’s forces, namely Gerard and Dylan, the clones find themselves in quite the predicament. Things are going to get a lot more hairy if they are to make it out of this alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy. All errors are my own.

 “I really hate this being knocked out thing,” Stiles groaned when he regained consciousness. “It stopped being funny after the first time already.”

It was all very disorientating waking up in an unknown place, feeling confused and unsure about what was going on. Stiles couldn’t see anything when he tried looking around, most likely due to the blindfold around his eyes. His jaw hurt whenever he moved it and he had a dull throb in his head. Stiles had mostly been talking to himself when he spoke earlier so it went without saying that he was surprised when he got a reply.

“You had it easy,” a voice muttered.

“Hello?” Stiles questioned. “Stephen?”

“It’s me.”

 “Man, am I glad to hear your voice,” Stiles exhaled, feeling at ease, “You okay?”

“I’m okay, thanks,” the familiar voice said, “Just can’t see shit and I have no clue where we are, I don't think we're at the safe house anymore.”

Stiles wasn’t fully certain of the direction of Stephen’s voice because of slight echo in the room, but he was sure enough of it coming from behind him.

“The only place I can think of is their headquarters,” Stiles commented.

 “Are you okay?” Stephen asked.

“I’m fine, just dazed,” Stiles complained. “I have no clue what happened...”

“All I know is that Isaac and I were ambushed when we got to the house,” he said, “They had the house surrounded. We tried to put up a fight but they overpowered us and tied us up. After they knocked you out, we all got shot with something; an anesthetic, I think, and then I woke up here. I thought I was alone until I heard your voice.”

“Damn,” Stiles moaned, feeling the sting on his jaw, “What did they use to knock me out?”

“Just a regular fist,” Stephen replied, “and then they injected you with the anesthesia.”

“Shit,” Stiles replied. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long actually,” he said.

Just then they heard the sound of a groan.

“Did you hear that?” Stephen asked.

“Yes,” Stiles replied. 

The voice groaned again. Stiles could tell that the noise had come from his right side, but he wasn’t sure how near or far the person was.

“Jeez,” someone mumbled, “Why do I feel like I have a hangover?”

“If this is what your hangover feels like then remind me to never party with you,” Stephen stated.

“Stephen?” the unknown voice asked, suddenly alert.

“Yes Storm,” Stephen said, “It’s me.”

“Shit,” Storm groaned, “What the fuck happened?”

“We have no clue...” Stiles piped up.

“Who else is here?” Storm asked.

“It’s just Stiles,” Stephen said.

“If it’s just you, the chatterbox and me,” Storm said, “Then where is Stuart?”

As if on cue, they heard the sound of another groan. This time, Stiles could tell that the sound had come from his left side. The noise had sounded like it had come from directly next to him.

“Stuart is that you?” Stiles questioned, turning his head to the left.

“Yes,” Stuart said, “but can you people please stop shouting...”

“We aren’t shouting,” Stephen said.

“Well, it sure feels like it,” Stuart said, “Does anyone know where we are?”

“At the organisation’s facility,” Stiles reiterated, before adding, “I think...”

“Who’s all here?”

“Looks like it’s just us clones,” Stephen said.

Unless there were more people unconscious in the room, Stephen was right, it was just the clones. Stuart was on his left and Storm had sounded like he was on his right side; he figured that Stephen was behind him.

“Any clue where everyone else could be?” Storm questioned.

“Nope,” Stiles answered.

Silence just rang on after that. No one had any clue where Derek, Isaac, Lydia and Peter were. It caused a lot of discomfort and anxiety not knowing if they were okay. He knew that that couldn’t be a good sign, but he tried to be positive.

“So any ideas on how we are going to get out of this?”

Just as Stiles asked that, they heard the sound of someone swiping a key card. Stiles hoped it might be someone his mother sent, but unfortunately it wasn’t.

His heart sank when he heard the voice of the person who had just entered the room.

“I see all my favourite people are awake,” Dylan commented.

 Stiles felt his body go cold. He wasn’t in the mood to put up with the psycho now.

Dylan slowly circled around them, violently pulling down their blindfolds. Stiles eyes adjusted to the room; it took him seconds to realise that his assumption about their location had been right, except this time they were in some other room. He noticed then that he and the clones were sitting with their backs to one another, each facing a direction of the room. He didn’t have much room to manoeuvre though because his legs and arms were tied to his chair. 

“What?” Dylan uttered commanding their attention, “Don’t I get warm welcome?”

“We don’t like to engage with the deranged,” Stiles said eventually, “We don’t want their batshit craziness rubbing off on us...”

“Someone’s feisty?” Dylan said making his way to the middle of Stiles and Storm, “Is it me or have we met before?”

He burst out laughing at his own joke. It was a laughter that sent chills down everyone’s spine.

“Sheesh,” Storm interjected, “If you think that is funny; you definitely need to get out more.”

Dylan punched Storm through his face. The sound of the punch bounced off the walls of the room.

“Is that the worst you can do?” Storm taunted, cracking huge smile.

Stiles knew that it must have hurt a crap load for him to do that, but they couldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing fear. Creatures like him thrived on other people’s pain; the best way to combat that was show Dylan that he wasn’t getting to them.

“I know who you all are,” he smirked, “It was easy differentiating between all of you once we got information about each of you. Storm the damaged yet skilled Marine, Stuart the tech genius, Stephen the weakling writer and the newbie Stiles. You and your club of misfits are all such a pathetic waste of space.”

“You know,” Stiles piped up, “you really need to work on your intimidation skills.  Calling us names like we’re back in high school is not going to cut it.”

Dylan grabbed onto Stiles, pulling out a knife and holding it tightly to Stiles’ neck. Stiles heart started pounding a mile a minute as he felt the cold knife firmly against his throat.

“With a slash of this blade,” he said pulling Stiles’ head back to expose more of his throat, “I could end it all for you right now.”

“Like I hadn’t heard that before,” Stiles retorted.

“One would think that you would have learnt your lesson by now?” he said trying to regain his composure. “Don’t you remember what I did to your arm?”

“Oh your love mark that you left on me?” Stiles taunted, “It would have been a lot easier just to have given me your number.”

“If you wanted to go out on a date,” Stuart chimed in, “then all you had to do was ask. I am sure that Stiles is available?”

“While he is not really my type,” Stiles strangled against the blade, “I am sure that I can make an exception. He definitely isn’t bad looking, not the greatest personality but what can you do? Not everyone can be as awesome as me...”

“See?” Stuart said, “All you had to do was ask.”

The anger in Dylan’s face was prevalent. They had been taunting him and it had been getting to him. They just wanted to throw him off his game and annoy him enough to show him that they weren’t scared of him. They were all aware of the possible negative reactions to this, he did have the power to end their lives but if he wanted them dead, they would have done so already at the safe house.

While being tortured by him was not fun either, they would not give him the upper hand. They knew that by mocking him, they were poking a bear- if that bear reacted, they would suffer. Which is exactly what happened.

Dylan punched Stiles in the ribs so hard, it knocked out his breath. Stiles had been injured enough times to know that that was going to leave a very ugly bruise.

“Now it was really not necessary to antagonise me,” Dylan said sounding apologetic, “You really don’t realise the situation you’re in do you?”

“If by that you mean be bored to death by a loose cannon than sure,” Stiles retorted.

“What this all is,” Dylan started indicating to their surroundings, “what we all are is an abomination. Gerard has helped me see the truth...”

“Yep, definitely crazy,” Storm added.

“You see, Gerard’s plan to kill all of you is so that this is all part of our redemption. We’re all abominations and by eradicating the filth that Dyad Institute has created is a way that we all get to be cleansed.

“You mean Inner Vitality...” Stephen said.

“Something Gerard always likes to say is “the path to the shepherd is through the sheep...” you’re just scratching the surface with this place here,” Dylan added, “all of this, all of you are just a drop in the ocean...”

“What do you mean?” Stuart inquired.

Dylan just laughed.

“We are all just poor copies of human being,” Dylan continued, “What these Neolutionists have done is abhorrent, Gerard has shown me the truth... by helping him take down and kill all of you, we’re trying to rectify the mistakes that were made and maybe, just maybe, there will be hope for all our souls. We’re trying to save you...”

“By killing us?” Stiles said, “That is some twisted logic right there.”

“Death is the only true way to gain freedom from what monster’s we all are...”

“Well you’re the only monster here now,” Stuart stated.

“You think you’re special? You will be the last of us make it out alive?” Storm laughed mirthlessly.

“We’re all special, just the wrong kind of special,” Dylan explained, “and we’re all gonna die, that is a given, but it’s what we do with our time while we’re alive that is truly important. This is my cause, by clearing up the mess that Inner Vitality and the Dyad Institute has caused.”

“Whoever told you that is lying...” Stuart said.

“The Prolethians never lie,” Dylan shouted.

“So you think that just because some psychos make you think that by killing us, all will be right and you will given some type redemption for rescuing our souls?”

“It is the truth,” Dylan shouted.

“And I turn into an Abominable Snowman in winter,” Stiles laughed.

“Yeah, and I turn batman...” Storm added.

“Shut up!” Dylan said griping the knife tighter.

If you believe that then why did you get angry at us when we said we don’t want your crazy rubbing off on us?” Stiles quipped. “Killing us accomplishes nothing.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

“You see Dylan,” Stuart laughed, “just because a group of psychos think make you feel less deranged it does not mean that they are right? I could draw a diagram for you but I feel like not even simple binary coding will be easy for you to understand.”  

“I told you to shut up!” Dylan screamed as he swiftly took the knife he had and lodged the knife deep into Stuart’s leg. 

“Fuck!”  Stuart yelled, his agony being felt by rest of the clones.

His scream of anguish had unsettled them, but it also showed them that they could get underneath Dylan’s skin. They were stronger than him and no matter what he tried to do to them; he would always come off like a petulant brat looking for attention.

“Dammit!” Stephen shouted, finally revealing his presence, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“You know Stephen,” Stiles answered, “I think that Dylan here really just loathes himself so much that taking out his frustrations on people who look identical to him, actually makes him feel better about himself?”

“Talk about deep-seated issues,” Storm added.

“Shut up!” Dylan screamed, losing his cool.

“Temper Temper,” Stiles cooed.

Stiles prepared himself for the oncoming punch that was bound to hit him squarely through the face. Thankfully someone chose that moment to burst into the room, sparing him from another blow to the jaw.

“What the hell do you think you are doing? You were just supposed to get them ready for their tests? Why are you even here now?”

“None of your business McCall,” he said, “Get out!”

“No!” Scott said, “I am not leaving, you are way too untrustworthy whenever you are around them!”

“I think you are confusing me with yourself there McCall,” Dylan said aggressively.

“What the hell is that suppose to mean?”

“Don’t you find it suspicious that Gerard wouldn’t include you on the mission to retrieve the clones?” he asked maliciously.

 “Why wasn’t I included in this mission?” Scott asked stepping closer to Dylan.

“It wasn’t because we didn’t need you McCall,” Dylan stated, “Gerard  was with us and he said that he didn’t want to take the risk of you messing up the mission again like you did the last time.”

“That was a onetime mistake,” Scott retorted.

“Then what do you call it when this clone here,” Dylan said forcefully grabbing Stiles by the head, “overpowered you and escaped?”

Scott didn’t have an answer for that. He had to control his emotions because the slightest slip up would have brought everything down and if they wanted to bring everything to an end, Scott would have to stick to Dr Stilinski’s plan.

“We’re going to need to talk about this hair grabbing if you want that date?” Stiles winced.

“Shut up,” he shouted delivering another punch to Stiles’ ribs.

“Stop it Dylan,” Scott said pulling Dylan away from Stiles.

“You know McCall,” Dylan said threateningly, “I am sick of all this superiority that you always have; walking around all smug because you’re married to the granddaughter of the man in charge. You are going to get your comeuppance.”

“And what? You are going to be the one who is going to put me in my place?” Scott said answered, not backing down, “You’re delusional if you think that eliminating me will suddenly make you, a psychotic clone, Gerard’s favourite! At the end of it all, all you’re going to be is another clone...”

“Shut up!” he said.

“If you believed for one moment that you are going to survive this then you’ve been living in a fantasy,” Scott toyed, “You think that if you become the last one standing they will let you go?”

“That’s what we’ve been telling him,” Stiles piped up.

“Shut up!” he hissed.

“Wow, then you are crazier than I ever knew,” Scott said.  

That was enough to finally unhinge him. He launched at Scott ready to take out his anger on him, but what he didn’t know was that Scott was exactly aware of what he was doing. He had been goading Dylan, hoping he would retaliate.

Dylan pushed Scott up against the wall, punching him in the stomach as he did so. Scott was able to block his punches and quickly manoeuvred Dylan face first into the wall. Dylan kicked against Scott’s leg allowing him to have space.

Stiles and the rest of the clones were intently watching what was going on.

Scott quickly recovered from the kick as Dylan threw another punch at him, which he managed to not only deflect but also use as an opportunity to punch Dylan. Scott tried his luck but Dylan had his attempt thwarted, giving him a kick that had sent Scott crashing into a tray of medical supplies before landing onto the floor. Before Stiles or the others had caught on to what happened, Dylan fell right next to Scott unconscious.

It was only when Stiles looked over at Scott did he see that Scott was holding onto a comma-inducing gun, having grabbed the one on the tray as he fell and then silently fired off a shot at Dylan.

“Oh crap!” Scott said realising what he had just done, “I didn’t mean to do that!”

“Well it’s too late for that now Scott!” Stiles muttered, “What had you been planning? Clearly you were goading him?”

“I just wanted to give him a taste of his medicine, not knock the guy out.”

“I am glad you did that though Scott,” Stiles smiled looking at Dylan’s unconscious body.

“Scott?!” Stephen gasped, “You know him?”

“Everyone meet Scott, Scott meet everyone,” Stiles introduced, “He is a friend.”

Scott sheepishly raised his hand, suddenly becoming that goofy and friendly kid from during their high school days. Stiles couldn’t believe the contrast between the Scott before him; the slightly above average kid who was smart, yet easily distracted and the trained fighter he had bared witness to who was also a sniper.

“What are we going to do Stiles?”

“It would have helped to have thought of that before you comatose’d the dude!” Stiles freaked.

“How about you get us all untied?” Storm asked.

“I can’t.” Scott said, “I had actually come here to fetch you. Some big shot head of the organisation wanted to see you all but clearly Dylan here had other plans to take you to Gerard, which is not what was supposed to have happened. You were supposed to come and stay here a few days be interviewed for data collection, maybe even a few surgeries if necessary was to be performed, then after that you would be free to go.”

“You were going to let them perform surgeries on us?” Storm accused.

“Of course not,” Scott said angrily, “That was their plan but we had a plan to get you out and bring the organisation down before that.”

“Who’s plan?” Stephen asked.

“You haven’t told them?” Scott exclaimed.

“Can we do this another time!” Stiles freaked, “We need to figure out what to do with Dylan! We can’t wake him up just yet because then dude will go nuclear.”

“So what are we going to do?” Scott asked, “I wasted time fighting with Dylan. Gerard is probably sending someone up as we speak.”

Stiles was brainstorming. He was trying to figure out what the best way to be to solve this conundrum that they were in and he had to do so without a lot of time on his side. Just then the obvious idea dawned on him.

“Scott I need you to untie me!” Stiles practically shouted.

“Stiles I can’t!” Scott pleaded, shushing him in the process.

“If you want my help you are going to have to untie my ass from this chair McCall!”

Scott relented and went over to quickly to free Stiles.

“What is the end game here?” he asked when Stiles was freed, “Please tell me you have a plan...”

“Get me Dylan’s clothes and put mine on his,” Stiles explained.

“Why?”

“I am going to pretend to be Dylan.”

“You’re going to do what?” Scott spluttered.

“I’m going to pretend to be Dylan,” he repeated.

“I heard you Stiles, we all did,” Scott said, “I’d just hoped that you were joking!”

“Stiles that’s way too risky!” Storm piped up, “So much could go wrong with that!”

“I’ve interacted with him the most, I know him better than any of us here. If anyone has a better idea, speak now or forever hold your peace?”

Stephen bit his tongue. He had tried his best not to draw too much attention to himself with Dylan around because of Dylan’s unpredictable nature. If he had revealed to them what had happened then they’d most likely turn on him. He thought that Dylan had come to release him when he had entered the room but apparently not. Stephen was unsure of what the plan was for his eventual release, but now with Dylan out he wasn’t sure when that would happen.

Things had taken an unexpected turn and he knew that he only had himself to blame for the situation that he was in; also he didn’t know where Isaac was and he wouldn’t leave without him. He would make sure that the agreement he had negotiated with the organisation would be stuck to. He and Isaac would go free in exchange helping them capture the rest; though what the Scott guy said had triggered some doubts in Stephen. He didn’t know how this would pan out all he could do now was see how far this would go- for the time being he would let this play out.   

“Stiles hurry up!’ Scott said, “Anyone could walk in at any moment!”

Just then the sound of another key card being swiped went off.

“Shit!” they all said simultaneously.

“What the hell is going on?” a woman whispered once turning to the scene in front of her.

“Oh Allison,” Stiles breathed easier, “Thank Heavens.”

“Jeez, how many people do you know in here?” Stuart asked.

“It’s difficult to explain,” Stiles answered.

“Stiles?” she asked looking confused, “What the hell is going on here? I was sent to see what was taking you so long. There are guards outside this door; apparently they are waiting to take you all to Gerard?”

“We will explain as we work!” Stiles said taking off his top and exchanging the one that Scott had offered to him.

“Stiles is going to pretend to be Dylan,” Scott explained.

“He’s going to do what??”

“It’s either that, or waking up Dylan here who would cause everything to go nuclear!”

“I would ask why you are even in this situation to begin with, but we don’t have time for that.”

Stiles had quickly managed to get dressed into Dylan’s clothes. With the help of Allison they bound Dylan and gagged him so that he could not speak. Unfortunately that meant that the rest of the clones had to be gagged as well.

“You can’t be serious?” Stephen complained.

“I am so sorry about this,” Stiles said, “We’ll loosen your restraints a little but we have to keep up this pretence.”

“Oh my!” Allison said spotting the knife in Stuart’s leg, “You’re bleeding.”

“It’s nothing really,” Stuart winced as she touched around the knife, still in his leg.

“Removing it may cause you to bleed out,” she said, “I am going to have to bandage this with the knife still in your leg.”

“Crap!” he laughed, “You never see this stuff happening in the movies hey?”

“Stuart,” Stiles said grabbing his face and looking him directly in the eyes, “I will owe you. If you ever need a kidney or a piece of liver or something then you know who call.”

“Got it!” he smiled weakly.

Allison was working on Stuart’s leg with the bandage while Scott and Stiles turned their attention to the guy Stiles had swapped places with. They were both nervous and shaking, but they had to wake him up if they going to survive this.

“Who’s going to do the honours?” Stiles asked.

“I will since I was the one who put us here,” Scott sighed.

He quickly retrieved a syringe and pulled out one of the bottles with the adrenaline in them. Scott’s hands were shaking slightly but he steadied his hands enough to find a vein on his forearm and slowly injected him with a potent enough dose to wake him up.

Dylan regained consciousness, eyes bulging in confusion before as he realised what had happened. He was breathing in heavily through his nose, having to adjust his breathing because of the gag in his mouth. He started thrashing savagely trying to get loose but it didn’t help.

Stiles hated him, but he didn’t have much time for anything else because just then the sound of another key card being swiped could be heard. It turned out to be one of the men in black.

“What’s the hold up!” he asked.

“None of your business,” Stiles said, adding a bit of Dylan’s malice to his voice. “Get out!”

“But sir...”

Dylan was thrashing around aggressively, pulling the suit’s attention temporarily away from Stiles.

“...we were instructed by Gerard to see what the holdup was,” he said while being distracted by Dylan’s muffled shouting.

Stiles took the syringe from Scott’s hand and gripped onto Dylan’s neck with a total ferocity- trying to put himself into Dylan’s frame of mind. He held a firm grip on the man, choking him enough to make him aware that Stiles wasn’t joking.

“If you don’t stop,” he seethed, “I will use this syringe and lodge into your neck with great pleasure then sit back and watch you choke on your own blood.”

Stiles grinned viciously at Dylan before return his attention to the man in black.

“Get out or I will personally castrate you without a drop of anesthesia and take great pleasure in doing so. I will make sure to take my time with each and every single slice of the scalpel, and then you know what? I will feed it to you,” Stiles added a smile before he stopped talking.

The stranger swallowed deeply before closing the door.

Everyone looked at Stiles dumbfounded.

“How was that?” he asked back to his normal tone, shaking off the horrid feeling he felt while inhabiting Dylan.

“Disturbingly impressive,” Scott uttered.

“Good.”

Dylan started thrashing around again.

“We need to calm him!”

“I can give him a tranquilizer but I am not sure for long it will subdue him,” Allison said.

“It’s better than nothing!” Scott said.

“What are we to do? We’re supposed to be taking you to meet Dr Leekie, but apparently Gerard has had some other plans,” Allison stated once Dylan had been subdued.

“I think the best thing to do is take them down to Gerard,” Scott suggested, “We’ll talk to your mom and then we’ll find a way to delay Dr Leekie.”

“Okay then,” Stiles said exhaling deeply.

 “So you ready to commit to this?” Allison asked, “Once we leave this room there is no going back.”

“About as ready as what I will ever be.”

“Then let’s do this.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone, Lots to update you about.
> 
> 1\. My beta and I have come to the conclusion that the process of sending it back and forth between each other while managing our real lives ended up hurting the fic so for the rest of the chapters it will just be me.
> 
> 2\. That means that the writing style may change slightly so if you want to jump ship I get it and I still love you.
> 
> 3\. The plotting of this may be far-fetched but I will need a small bit of leeway. Orphan Black has the advantage of having a writer’s room and being a TV show. I am just a single writer.
> 
> 4\. Feel free to review and let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
> 
> 5\. If you want to get in contact: www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com
> 
> 6\. Hope you still enjoying the story.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy the chapter. All errors are my own

Stiles had to take a very deep, steadying breath.

If there was ever a time to have a panic attack, now would be it.

He definitely felt overwhelmed and there was so much that could go wrong at any given moment. If he said or did the wrong thing then they all would be screwed. He knew his mother had some kind a plan going on but apparently Gerard had something else in mind which would only lead to all kinds of shit hitting the fan.

He had to stay calm and focused. Easier said than done. 

The elevator ride had been cramped and he was sweating buckets already. He knew that once the elevator doors opened, he would have to perform.  He was alone in this. Scott and Allison had left because they had to stall Dr. Leekie, whoever he was.

Stiles would have loved to not have done this alone, but he knew that circumstances dictated it. Whatever his mother was planning for this Leekie guy he would just have to trust her. He really hoped that things would turn out for the best.

Stiles’ nervousness caused him to fidget excessively. There was so much uncertainty around what was going on and if they would make it out alive. Stiles was definitely scared but he tried his best to put that out of his mind. When the elevator doors opened, he was surprised by what he saw. It was some type of underground garage with trucks and black SUVs around. 

“Here they are!” Gerard announced grandly. “Hope they didn’t cause you any hassle?”

“Nothing I couldn’t manage,” Stiles said leading the way out of the elevator.

“Ah,” he smiled creepily, “How sublime it is to see all of you.”

Stiles couldn’t help but notice that this Gerard guy seemed more dangerous than Dylan.  The first time he saw the guy, he looked authoritative but harmless- now there was volatile quality to him. He was one of those people who managed to hide their crazy behind well-practices facades. They would come across as sane and rational people but as soon as they start cracking, the unhinged and dangerous side to them becomes revealed.

He had to be very cautious of how he treated him because if he did the wrong thing then Gerard could easily snap and send him to the afterlife, which went for everyone else too.

The men in black that had brought the clones down had put them all down in front of Gerard; like he was a teacher standing in front of his class while they all huddle together on the mat. Except the “class” Gerard was standing in front of were all bound and gagged, and they had also been separated into two groups- clones and their protectors.

“Isn’t this nice?” he continued, “Everyone all together. I hope you realise that your little clone club has sure caused an awful lot of difficulty in my life. Wasted hours spent tracking you down, using multiple men to hunt down and the loss of innocent lives- all of which could have been prevented if you had come in. Every time I started coming close to catching a break then things would always be foiled; I started wondering how all of this could have happened. If it wasn’t you managing to elude my clutches or this organisation constantly watching my every move, I’m sure you all would have been dead, which I feel is what today is about. Redemption through death.”

Stiles’ heart started beating faster.

“I had always had my suspicions that there must have been a inside man working alongside you, and with the recent of escape of _Mr Stilinski_ , it didn’t take long for me to figure out who,” Gerard said as the elevators doors opened, causing his attention to turn to who was inside.

With the discovery of Stiles’ surname Gerard had uncovered enough for everything to make sense. Stiles’ mother was the person who had been brought down with two guards on either side. His mother still kept her composure, even though she every reason to be scared.

Stiles wanted to shout out to her, but he realised that he would be revealing himself. Every single second he kept quiet was difficult for him to endure. If he wanted to rescue them all, he knew that he would have to keep his wits about him.

“You see,” Gerard continued, “when we captured Stiles it was upon my discovery of his identity that I knew I had found my mole. There was no way that it was coincidental that one of the most important doctors with our ranks had the same surname as a clone by accident. Dr Stilinski here had tried her best to cover up Stiles’ identity even swapping blood samples but ever since I had my suspicions of a mole, I had to keep a tab on everyone.”

Gerard walked up grabbing Claudia Stilinski’s face in his hands. Stiles didn’t just want to tell the man to remove his hands; he wanted to cut off the vile thing’s hand permanently. Just then Stiles noted that Dylan was starting to regain lucidness. He was groaning and soon enough he was making a loud noise to warrant attention.

Stiles acted with barely a moment’s though, walking over and punching the man across his face. He hadn’t intended to hit the man hard, but he had been so angry that he barely noticed how much effort had put behind the gesture. Dylan fell onto his side from Stiles’ punch, unable to move from the ground because his hands had been tied behind his back. 

“No!” Stiles’ mother gasped, for the first time trying to move from her guards who had gripped onto her tightly.

Dylan just kept glaring at the Stiles from his position on the floor.

Everyone else was gawking at Stiles, the clones had barely reacted because they were well aware of what was going on. The same couldn’t be said the rest for the protectors. They groaned from behind their gagged mouths- shouting or making some type of noise in protest.

“Now now Dylan,” Gerard said suddenly clasping Stiles’ shoulder. “What did I say about that temper of yours? There was no need to treat our guest in such a rough manner.”

Stiles wanted to vomit. He tried not to throw off the man’s hand and had to use every fibre of his being to regain his sense of self. Yes he was pretending to be Dylan but Stiles knew better than just to react in anger.

 “Sorry,” he said.

Stiles wasn’t sure if the sorry was to Dylan or if it had been to his values that he had betrayed by lashing out. Gerard, however did not think the sorry to be anything more than an apology for losing his cool. Gerard went over and helped Dylan, who he thought to be Stiles, sit up properly.

Dylan started thrashing around again, only this time Gerard ignored him.

“Now imagine my surprise,” Gerard said, continuing his speech, “when I had looked over the security feeds and found out that Dr Stilinksi did not only help her son escape, but she also had help. I was dumbfounded to discover who was actually aiding her.”

Just then a slightly bloodied Scott and a dishevelled Allison were brought in.

“Scott!” Stiles gasped before he could stop himself.

“That was exactly my level of shock Dylan,” Gerard said turning to Stiles, “My own flesh and blood along with her husband had working along with the dear Dr. to betray me; I was in disbelief. How truly disappointed I am.”     

 Stiles couldn’t believe the level of crazy that this organisation had recruited. Gerard had been performing a monologue like some kind of Bond villain. The man was clearly crazy, deranged and dangerous.  Gerard had somehow managed to ignore Dylan’s thrashing and moaning throughout his whole speech, until he chose to focus on the psychopath.

“You see Mr Stilinksi,” Gerard moving to Dylan, “All their help had no turned out to be for nothing because here we are. No matter how hard you tried, you all failed.”

Stiles didn’t believe what had happened if he hadn’t seen it; Gerard had pulled out his gun and killed Dylan with a bullet to the brain with barely a second’s thought.

Everyone yelped in stunned horror, but it was Claudia Stilinski’s utter breakdown of her controlled composure that almost had Stiles in tears. The look of total loss and devastation on his mother’s face was painful for Stiles to see. He wanted to tell her that he was still alive, that Gerard hadn’t killed her only child.

He had to bite his tongue to prevent him from doing anything irrational. Fortunately enough someone else chose to spoke up at that moment.

“What in the hell is going on here?” a mature white haired man boomed.

“Ah, you must be Dr. Leekie from the Dyad Institute,” Gerard said swinging his gun in the man’s direction.

“Yes,” he said, “and I repeat. What in the hell is going on here? Are you out of your mind, the clones were not to be further harmed. There is valuable information that we have yet to discover from them.”

“We don’t agree with that notion. All of them,” Gerard indicated towards the clones, “need to die.”

“Who do you think you are to decide that?” Leekie shouted.

“Who do you think you are to decide that such abominations exist,” Gerard countered. “You have taken what God has created and perverted it creating these copies of human man. Such things were not intended for man.”

“Now it all makes sense,” Leekie said, “you’re one of those religious extremists, the Prolethians, as you call yourself. What a pretentious name if I ever heard one?”

“Like you Neolutions are any better...” Gerard continued, “I am just here to carry out the Almighty’s work. By killing all of these clones, they shall become purified and their souls shall receive redemption. It has taken me awhile but finally I get to conclude my long journey and cleanse the world of the disgusting abomination you have created with your Dyad Institute and your Inner Vitality and whatever other group you are operating under. The Prolethians will succeed and take down not only you but dismantle every single thing that you have perverted.”

“You will not get away with this,” Leekie started, “I will make sure you pay.”

“Oh no you will,” Gerard stated before turning to Stiles, “Tell me Dylan, what is it that I always say?”

Stiles was lost. Suddenly he had been put on the spot in front of this man having no clue what it was he was supposed to say. His mind was running a mile a minute trying to figure out what it was. Gerard turned to regard him, expecting him to say something. Stiles opened his mouth not sure what he was going to say until it suddenly hit him.

“The path to the shepherd is through the sheep.”

“Indeed it is Dylan,” Gerard grinned, “Indeed it is.”

Without even flinching for a second, Gerard shot and killed Leekie.   

Not only was Dylan’s body lying on the ground dead, now there was another. Gerard was volatile and unpredictable; he had displayed all that with the deaths of Leekie and Dylan. There was no uncertainty to what Gerard’s end game plan because it became abundantly clear that he was going to kill them all.  Stiles needed to figure out how he was going to stop him and soon.

While everyone else was processing what had been happening, Gerard had already moved on as if nothing had happened; continuing on about without missing a beat.

“You know,” he continued, “there is one person that I must give credit where credit is due. Dylan please bring our dear friend Stephen to me, and do make sure that you untie him.”

Stiles was very confused. Why would he need Stephen? And why was he such a ‘dear friend’?

Stiles wandered over, taking slow and deliberate steps to release Stephen; though Stephen’s restraints were already loosened. Back in Dylan’s torture room, they had allowed the clones enough room to free their hands for when things went berserk. If Stephen had loosened his then Stiles knew that the other clones had also done the same.

He undid Stephen’s gag for him to speak, except when he tried asking Stephen what was happening without anyone else noticing Stephen didn’t answer him. Instead his focus was still on the dead bodies on the floor.

“He is someone that I’d like to thank, as he was responsible for your capture today. He had every single one of you fooled so well that I actually feel sorry your betrayal,” Gerard said extending his hand, “Stephen, it was really you who I have to express my gratitude too! If you hadn’t been supplying Dylan with the information then we never would have been able to get the location of your meeting!”

He waited with bated breath to see Stephen would take Gerard’s hand. Stiles thought that this was some sick joke, but his heart sank when Stephen returned his handshake. Stiles was flabbergasted; sure he didn’t know the man well enough but after everything that the group had been though because of the organisation, it was such a betrayal for him to have given them up. He had been orchestrating there ultimate demise.

“Didn’t he do an excellent job Dylan?” Gerard asked looking at Stiles.

“Of course,” Stiles stammered, before he regained his composure plastering a fake smile on his face, “He did phenomenally!”

He didn’t put the fake smile on because of it being something that Dylan would have done, he did it because he was so surprised that he just reacted have to hide his shock and his true lack of comprehension in the matter.

 “I was extremely glad that you were so committed to your online postings of articles and _little stories_ because you truly helped make our search for you so much easier,” Gerard said in a belittling tone. “Creating some ruse so you could get Jimmy to meet you, and then bugging his phone so we could track him down, also giving us the location of your clone club meetings...you truly were my most valuable asset in all of this.”

The trepidation and uncertainty of Gerard’s mental stability had Stephen on edge. It was apparent in his body language that he wasn’t sure if he could trust the man or not, especially after he had just killed Dylan in front of them.

“I want you to know that I truly do not take for granted the huge risk you took for me,” Gerard said.

“I didn’t do it for you,” he spewed.

“Oh yes,” Gerard grinned, “You did it for your beloved Isaac.”

“And you will honour our agreement?” he said concerned.

“If I am not a man who honours his word, then I am not a man at all. You have more than earned your freedom Stephen. I truly want you to know that I am so grateful.” 

“And you promise that I can take Isaac with me?”

“Of course young man,” he smiled, “I will even have my guards release him, as a way to prove my commitment.”

Slowly Isaac was released from his restraints and glanced at the men in black behind him as he started inching his way towards Stephen. Stephen turned to towards Isaac, a huge smiling breaking over his face.

“What have you done?” Isaac uttered sounding distraught, “This is not right Stephen!”

“I am sorry,” he said tears welling up in his eyes, “but I did it for us. I have been so exhausted from all the running, the hiding and the secrecy. I just waited for us to finally live out our happy ever after. We should have been off on island somewhere, enjoying our lives on free of all the shit that we’ve endured.”

“That may be true,” Isaac argued, “but this wasn’t how we were supposed to earn that freedom Stephen. Not like this! Not at the expense of those who have become our family...”

“It had to be done,” he countered gripping onto Isaac in hopes of making him understand.

“I won’t leave,” Isaac said getting choked up.

“Isaac we have to!” he pleaded desperately.

“I can’t.”

Suddenly two gunshots went off, causing Stephen’s body to fall forward into Isaac’s. Muffled gasps and groans filled the air. Stiles felt the blood drain from his face and thought he had lost his ability to breathe as he stared on in horror at the scene before him.

Stiles felt like he was experiencing Jimmy flashbacks, taking him back to the very first time he had seen what it looked like if he had to die. He had tried his best to put it out of mind the last couple of days, but it was still jarring and disturbing to witness. The other clones looked on in silence because they got to experience what he had already witnessed- they all now knew how their bodies would look like after their deaths.

It wasn’t the same thing when Dylan died, he had seemed so monstrous and far removed from any sense of humanity that witnessing him die was different, but this was Stephen. They knew him...or at least they thought they did.

Everything was confusing and scary for everyone because the bodies kept piling up and it seemed like a truly hopeless situation for them to be in.

When Stiles looked at Isaac’s face, he could feel a lump form in his throat. His expression, told the true story his pain as he cradled the dying body of the man he loved.  He screamed out in agony, a piercing guttural sound, as he was holding onto Stephen’s body.

“Come on Stephen!” he pleaded. “Stay with me!”

“I...I just want you know that I love you...” he whispered loud enough for only Isaac to hear.

As Stephen died, a part of Isaac did too. He looked instantly broken. It seemed like he had lost his centre of his universe. Everyone felt like they had just witnessed a death of love right in front of them. He held onto Stephen’s body, blood staining his hands as he was holding him close. Suddenly guards pried Isaac away from Stephen’s corpse.

“No!!!” he screamed in protest but it was futile, all he had now would be tear stained memories. The pain he felt was palpable.

All of the clones and their protectors sensed a morose feeling settle around them because of what had just happened.

“How unpleasant was that?” Gerard stated still holding onto his gun.

Stiles felt numb. He wasn’t sure if he was registering anything.

“All of this could have been avoided,” Gerard continued, looking at them as if he had just taught the man invaluable lesson, treating them like uneducated students. “You only have yourselves to blame.”

“You bastard,” Isaac screamed in outrage, “you promised to let him go!”

“I promised his freedom Isaac, I didn’t promise in what form he would be receiving his freedom. Besides, I was doing him a favour. I was redeeming his soul. Don’t you understand son, they’re all abominations. They have to die. These clones should not have existed in the first place. I feel like I would have apologised for your loss, but honestly Isaac, you should have known better than to fall for one of those deviants.”

Isaac fought with every fibre of his being, attempting to break loose. He wanted to make Gerard feel his anguish but he wasn’t even sure if the man could feel at all.

“Your _clone club_ has caused such immense trouble but yet Inner Vitality still wanted to be lenient on you and allow you your chance at freedom as long as you helped with whatever bullshit they had cooking here. The Prolethians however, have a more efficient way to handle your kind. Vermin like you need to be cleansed from this world. Your filth keeps spreading and spreading,” he spewed, “I do hope by now that I have made myself extremely clear in regards to your mortality... if not then let me spell it out for you - none of you are going to be making it out of here alive...”

Everyone by now had guessed this. They were never truly going to be free, because as long as Gerard was here then their deaths were guaranteed.

“I think that it’s time for you to gain your position as number one Dylan,” Gerard said, “By eradicating the rest of the vermin, and their sympathisers we get to guarantee your salvation Dylan.”

Stiles was processing everything that was happening; needing to figure out a way to get everyone free or else this would not go well for them and they would all end up dead.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Stiles said trying to think up of a plan.

“Who would you like to take out?” he grinned.

 _You_ , Stiles initially thought.

 Stiles knew that he would be dead instantly if he had immediately gone for Gerard, having every one of the guards shoot him before Gerard’s body hit the ground. He would need to utilise what he had on hand and figure out the best solution for solving the dilemma they were all in. He needed an ally who could help him get everyone out.

Stiles scanned those around him and he saw that the two guards were holding onto Scott without bothering to have him tied up; the same went for Isaac.

He temporarily made eye contact with the clones trying to decide if it was worthwhile putting another one of them in dangers. Stiles wasn’t aware of the extent of their combat capabilities so he decided against using them. He knew that Storm could handle himself, but he didn’t want to face the possibility of having Storm turn on him because he didn’t trust Stiles. He could blame Stiles for not intervening with the Stephen thing. He was an unpredictable choice.

He passed a quick glance to the clones’ protectors but avoided their gaze. He felt like there was such a lack of fore knowledge for them to quickly grasp what would be happening. Also the hatred in their eyes that was directed at Stiles had hurt him more than he would show. 

Scott looked out of it but he was Stiles’ only option of helping them make it out alive. He wasn’t sure if Isaac would react quickly enough to what was going on, particularly because of how he had just lost Stephen traumatically and he didn’t know that Stiles was alive.

“Give me McCall!” he said with a vindictive smile in place!

“That’s my boy!” Gerard exclaimed like a proud father.

Stiles’ mother protested, while Allison tried to break free. The men in black, who had been holding onto them, tightened their grip on the women. One even slapped Allison through the face to quieten her down. Stiles really hated that.

“Take me instead!” Claudia pleaded. “Don’t do this to the poor girl! Don’t do this to them!”

Scott, Allison and the clones knew that Dylan had died and that it was actually Stiles who was orchestrating this, but they played along, not sure what exactly was going on. The two guards who had dragged Scott in, brought him forward to Stiles, and placed him on his knees so that everyone could see what was happening.

 Stiles pulled out his gun, and then leaned in to whisper something into Scott’s ear. He had to whisper so softly that the two guards standing nearby Scott didn’t hear.

“I am going to try and shoot as many of the guards as I can,” Stiles started. “I doubt I will be able to do much damage but you’re my best option in helping us when I start shooting, try and get yourself a gun so we can get our asses out of here. Hopefully I can get to the clones and the others, before I go down. You will need to scream “No” now as if I said something very horrible by the way.”

There were about 12 guards in entirety around them all sprawled out, and there was only one Stiles. He knew that he had the element of surprise, but he really hoped that he made it out alive from this! The clones’ restraints had already been slacked so hopefully by now they would be ready for the attack as well.

Just as Scott screamed, Stiles removed the safety from the gun.

“You’re screams won’t save you know,” Gerard laughed.

Stiles pointed gun at Scott, taking a deep breath. He quickly moved the gun to shoot one of Scott’s guards to allow him time to handle the other. Stiles was able to fire another shot at one of Isaac’s guards to give him the opportunity to do the same.

It only took nanoseconds after that until all hell had broken loose!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
> 
> Shit got real. I apologise if you got hurt in the feels.
> 
> If you want to chat or get in touch: www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com
> 
> Please let me know your likes/dislikes or thoughts in the comments below. I really want to hear what you have to say.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy.

Stiles’ heart had been beating a hundred miles a minute.

He had the taste of mental in his mouth, his chest was heaving and he wasn’t sure he was thinking clearly either.

He had the gun pointed directly as Scott, took a deep breath before aiming and firing at the leg of one Scott’s guards. He quickly took aim at one of Isaac’s guards before shooting in the arm. Everything started going crazy after that.

Stiles had expected to be dead pretty soon after he fired his weapon at his ‘fellow’ men in black; thankfully he wasn’t yet... _yet_ being the operative word. Stiles was astounded that the two shots he fired had hit his targets exactly where he intended it to.

Stiles knew that he had to thank Derek’s for the two day crash course in gun firing to have accomplished that feat. Also, his body kicked into survival mode thereafter which he assumed played a very large part in him still breathing.

Scott and Isaac were thankfully both skilled enough to have capitalised on the distraction Stiles caused; overpowering their guards and taking them out in the process. A gun battle ensued, leaving it all up to him, Scott and Isaac to save everyone.

Stiles managed to duck behind a pillar, avoiding bullets that were being aimed at his head, as he tried his best to make his way closer to where everyone else was.

Apparently Stiles had underestimated the clones’ resourcefulness because they had also used the momentary confusion to take their guards down. Stiles had assumed that they already managed to escape their restraints when he went to ‘free’ Stephen, but he didn’t think they would have ambushed their guards. They had appeared to be fighting the men in black, causing a significant amount of damaged to them in the process.

Stiles couldn’t help but catch glimpses of Storm and Stuart going deadly ninja-like on their asses. Stiles was stunned by Storm’s combat skill; he had taken down two men effortless, grabbing their guns and making his way closer to the protectors. Stuart was slower but that was because he still had the damn knife in his leg. It was obvious that he was trying to not let it hinder him but he could only fight through the pain so long.

Stuart was unaware of one of the suits navigating their way closer to him. Stiles quickly shot the man in black just as he was aiming his gun at Stuart. Stiles had to retreat behind the pillar when another round of bullets went flying in his direction.

He noticed Scott nearby, so he tried his best to get Scott’s attention but Stiles couldn’t as he was fending off attackers from every direction. Isaac was close to Scott, fighting off a guard when Stiles saw Isaac about to be shot at. He screamed at Isaac but suddenly Isaac was on the ground, covered by Scott’s body. Scott having noticed Isaac’s situation, had quickly taken down his own attacker, before knocking Isaac out of the way and shooting Isaac’s attacker in the shoulder.

“You just saved my life,” Isaac said, Scott still lying on top of him. “Thank you.”

Scott blushed before he quickly got up, offering his hand to Isaac in the process. Isaac gladly accepted. Allison had also scored herself a weapon and was expertly taking down all the guards in her path. She quickly found her way to where Isaac and Scott stood, allowing them to band together; they started being cornered and needed a way out of a tough situation.

Stiles was about to help but he was suddenly slammed into a wall.    

Stiles eyes almost popped out of his head because Derek had his hand firmly around his neck. Stiles had become so distracted that he didn’t notice that the protectors had been freed. He felt somewhat guilty because he was meant to free them but naturally things never went according to plan for Stiles and right now he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Derek, you’re choking me!” Stiles mumbled.

“I am going to kill you for what you did,” he seethed, “to my friends, to Jimmy and for what you did to Stiles.”

“Derek, it’s me! Stiles,” he reasoned.

Derek slammed Stiles against the wall again. Stiles’ eyes were starting to sting from the tears.

“Shut up!” he said coming undone by his anger.

“We were together when we went to the locker!”

“I am going to make sure that you suffer...” Derek said tightening his grip, “You sick psycho.”

“We kissed!” Stiles scrambled losing more and more of his ability to breathe, “You just came in and then I kissed you. You were asking about the...hearing and how it went. We then started...making out and ended up in bed...”

Stiles was going red, but it was not from the topic of conversation. He could see the confusing and inner battle that Derek was having; does he get revenge for his friends that he has lost? Or does he take the risk and let him go because the guy whose life he had in his hands was actually that of a friend?

Stiles could see the inner battle that was happening in Derek’s eyes and he just hoped that while Derek had no known reason to release the grip he had. Stiles was glad that he did.

Stiles sunk to the grown when Derek’s hand was removed from his throat; he kept wheezing for some time before his normal breath intake had returned.

“Thank you,” Stiles said. “Thank you for not killing me Derek.”

Derek sunk down next to Stiles, “I’m so sorry Stiles.”

“It’s not your fault,” he coughed out.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said, the concern clear on his face.

“It’s okay,” Stiles uttered, his throat feeling raw, “I would have reacted in the same way.”

“How are you even alive?” Derek asked clearly confused, “Shouldn’t you be dead?”

“When are you going to learn to stop asking that question?” Stiles jested.

A grin slowly formed on Derek’s face. Stiles reciprocated the gesture.

If there wasn’t the chance of them being critically injured by flying bullets or the threat of imminent death, Stiles would have had more time to appreciate the moment, but that was not how things worked. Stiles suddenly felt Derek roll over him as one of the guards had fired bullets where their heads were seconds ago. Stiles delivered two shots in succession and managed to injure the man.

Stiles and Derek quickly scrambled to another pillar when he noticed that Gerard was slowly making his way to the exit. Stiles knew that that was not a good sign and that if they ever wanted peace from this, they would have to capture him. The problem was that more men were coming and if they didn’t find a way to end it soon, it would be the end for them all.

Stiles’ mother ambushed Gerard by jumping on to his back, and successfully lodging one of the instant comatose creations into him. Gerard tried throwing her off but she clung onto him very tightly. He crashed into a pillar, with her still on his back, before slowly falling down.

“Mom,” Stiles screamed.

Stiles got up from where they were situated and ran towards his mother regardless of the shootout. He had to make sure that she knew he was alive and well. To Stiles’ surprise Derek was next to him covering him as they made their way towards his mother.

When they reached his mother, Stiles was slightly panicked because it looked like she wasn’t moving. Stiles shook his mother slightly waiting with bated breath for her to give some kind of indication that she was alright.

He finally released an audible sigh when she started stirring, coming back from her temporary unconscious state. She started fighting against him, her eyes huge in fear as she was staring up at him. Stiles felt a moment of rejection before he realised why she had reacted that way.

“Mom, it’s me Stiles!” he said.

“Get away from me! My son was killed,” she screamed.

“No mom!” he pleaded, “It is me Stiles, I am alive. I didn’t die.”

The doubt was clear on her face. She didn’t know whether to trust him or not, she was still weary of him when she had stopped fighting against him. Thankfully Derek chose that moment to speak up and validate Stiles’ story.

“He is Stiles,” he said pulling her attention towards him. “Gerard didn’t kill him.”

The tears started welling up in her eyes as she didn't just look at Stiles, but looked properly. She was suddenly griping him in a bear hug holding onto him as tight as she could muster without saying a words. As Stiles was hugging her turned to Derek and mouthed “thank you.”

Derek just nodded.

Stiles could feel so much of what was unspoken in the hug. He truly had missed his mother more than what she knew. He had wished that his father could have been here to share the moment with them and know that the women he had loved had not died but was in fact still alive. It was a battle for Stiles to hold back the tears and a battle that he was losing.

Unfortunately the moment came to end when a voice speaking over an intercom system and the red lights against the wall had started flashing throughout the around them.

 _“Self-destruct sequence initiated,”_ a female voice said, “ _The building will self-destruct in 5 minutes.”_

“What?” Stiles spluttered. “She is joking right? Someone please tell me that she is joking.”

“She isn’t joking,” Claudia said, “There is a security system in check that requires Gerard to key in a certain number sequence and since I assume that it was part of his plan to have this building blow up all along, the self destruct was initiated.”

“We have to get going!” Derek said.

“How are we going to get out?” Stiles asked.

“The SUV’s,” she said indicating to the cars nearby.

“But what about the others?”

“Scott and Allison are trained to handle themselves...”

“And Peter them?”

Peter pulled up in a SUV, apparently having thought ahead of them. Stuart was in the passenger seat looking in pain. Stiles was extremely relieved to see that they were okay, he couldn’t have handled it if something else had happened to someone else. He just hoped that everyone else would be alright.

“Anybody looking for a ride?” he smirked.

“Talk about perfect timing,” Stiles said.

 _“The building will self destruct in 3 minutes,”_ a female voice interrupted.

“How was that even 2 minutes?” Stiles sputtered.

“I don’t mean to hurry you but...” Peter said.

Derek and Claudia quickly climbed into the backseat ready to leave while Stiles stared at Gerard’s body still lying on the floor, in his comatose state. Derek was going to ask what the holdup was but he saw the expression on the young man’s face and the direction that he was looking at.

“What do you want to do?” Derek asked.

Stiles didn’t like the creep. He had been so close to murdering them all. Heck, he even killed Dylan and Stephen without flinching, he deserved to die in this building and pay for what he did, but Stiles was not a murderer. He maimed and injured people but Stiles had never killed someone in cold blood...and today wouldn’t be the start.

“We put him in the boot,” Stiles said. “I don’t want him with us but leaving him to die is not an option either.”

Derek nodded, helping Stiles load Gerard’s body into the boot. Derek was impressed with how Stiles handled the situation, it wasn’t an easy thing to do within the situation that they were in but he had handled himself better than most.

Stiles then heard renewed gunshots being fired at them. He and Derek moved as quickly as they could but unfortunately of the men in black appeared out of nowhere. Stiles saw that he had his gun raised up at Derek and was ready to fire.

The guy was too well hidden for Stiles to take a shot at him so when the man in black fired directly at Derek, he did the only he could. Stiles reacted purely on instinct and jumped in the way to protect Derek. Peter shot the guy with his one hand out the car window and killed the man in black instantly. Derek turned around, and he felt himself grow cold when he saw Stiles on the cold hard ground lying their unconsciously.

Derek froze.

“There’s a pulse but it’s weak,” Peter said, suddenly appearing beside the body. “If we’re gonna save him we need to move now, I’m going to need you to pick up the other half of Stiles’ body.”

Derek remained rooted in his place.

“Derek!” Peter screamed.

He got no reply.

“Derek!!”

Still no reply.

“DEREK, this place is about to blow and we need to get Stiles out. He is not going to live if you don’t snap out of it.”

It felt like an eternity might have passed, but in reality to was only seconds. He was surprised when he felt himself moving before his brain fully registered what he was doing. They quickly got Stiles into the backseat, placing his head on his mother’s lap while applying pressure to the wound. Derek been in as much shock but he tried his best to remained focus.

“What’s wrong? What happened to Stiles?” Claudia asked.

“Stiles got shot trying to protect Derek,” Peter said.

“Why is he unconscious?” Stuart asked.

“I think he knocked his head as he fell down knocking himself out,” Peter replied.

They sped out of the place and manage to get enough distance between them and the building when it exploded. The force of the explosion was so strong it caused both of the back wheels to lift off the ground. Thankfully once the wheels were safely on the ground seconds later, everyone appeared okay.

Everyone except for Stiles.

As Stiles lay dying, it was clear that they needed to get him to safety.

“His heart rate is too fast,” Claudia said feeling his pulse. “We need something to slow it down or else he is going to bleed out.”

“Good thing I got this then,” Stuart replied, handing over a comatose gun that he had procured.

“Stuart, I love you so much right now,” Claudia stated. “How did you get it?”

“Swiped if off one of the suits when shit hit the fan.”

“Is that the smartest thing to do though?” Peter questioned. “How will we know if it’s the drug or if it’s his own heart that’s slowing down?”

“We won’t but I’d rather risk it than not do anything,” Claudia stated. “I will _not_ have my son die, I thought I had lost him tonight and I can’t go through that again.”

Claudia tried steadying her hands but she was visibly shaking. Derek could see that her hands were unsteady and took the weapon from her. He rolled up Stiles’ shirt, exposing his forearm and quickly fired off the weapon, delivering the scientific concoction straight into his blood stream.

Claudia checked for Stiles’ pulse and she could feel that it was having effect.

“Did it work?” Stuart enquired.

“Can’t be sure,” she replied. “We need to get him to a hospital or else he won’t make it.”

“A hospital’s too risky,” Peter said.

“Any other ideas?”

“I might know of one,” Peter answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
> If there are any thoughts or comments then please feel free to post them below.  
> If you want to get in contact then you can find me at www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fallout from Inner Vitality nearly killing the clones, and Stiles putting his life on the line for Derek, the man sits by his side and waits in hope of Stiles making a recovering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone.  
> 1\. Apologies for the delay.  
> 2\. I’m aware that I may be asking for little too much “suspension of disbelief” with the few inconsistencies but the story became more intricate than I had anticipated but sometimes that is just how these stories develop. I understand that I may lose readers because of some of these inconsistencies. I just wanted to give everyone a fic where they could have some iteration of their Stiles/whoever pairing but little did I know how hectic that would be.  
> 3\. Hope you enjoy. Sorry for the errors...

Derek noticed how peaceful the man looked in the bed.

It had been touch and go in the start as Stiles almost hadn’t made it, but thankfully they got him to Storm’s contact in time.

They had managed to remove the bullet but still there had been a complication as bullet fragments were still left over. Stiles had started crashing and almost died, but he quickly stabilised and they removed all the fragments.

Derek wouldn’t say it out loud, but he had been happy and very relieved when he was told that Stiles had made it out alive. He felt like he owed the man for saving his life, and he hoped that he would at least get the opportunity to say thanks.

He was still puzzled over why the man had stepped in front a bullet for him.

He was very grateful to the man for doing it, as he might have been dead if Stiles didn’t, but he wondered about the man’s motivation...

It was part of the reason why he hadn’t left the man’s side; and the other reason why he didn’t want to leave Stiles’ side was something he didn’t want to think too much about.

“Here you go,” said Dr Deaton, giving Derek a cup of coffee.

“Thanks,” he replied.

“How’s he doing?” the man asked.

“Still asleep,” Derek answered.

“It was very fortunate that you got him here on time,” the Dr commented.

Derek nodded, taking a sip of his cup.

“Have you gotten some sleep at least?” Dr Deaton asked. “You’ve barely left his side.”

“I’m okay,” Derek said pressing his lips together.

He had been by the man’s side for the past few days, wanting Stiles not to be alone whenever he woke up. Everyone else went back to the safe house, while he had insisted to stay.

The lady, whom they had discovered to be Stiles’ mother, had wanted to stay by her son’s side too but Peter had explained that they needed her back at the safe house because she was critical to whatever plan they came up with next.

Derek had no clue what was happening because they had decided to keep communications via electronic devices to a minimum. He had been told that when Stiles was well enough then they would meet up with the others back at the safe house.

He’s only priority now was Stiles’ wellbeing.

“Do you know when he will wake up?”

“It should be soon,” the man answered. “He had been put through a lot and I assume the reason why he hasn’t woken up yet has been because his body is recuperating and building up his energy. From what I can gather the young man has been through a lot.”

If only you knew, Derek thought.

Stiles had been under a considerable amount of pressure and had to endure a lot, but he was still here battling. He was a fighter.

Pretending to be Dylan in order to save them, the torturing he had been put through, the nightmares, and his ability to remain level headed in the face of danger was all proof of how much of a fighter he was.

Stiles was stronger than what he knew, and that impressed Derek immensely.

Derek was absentmindedly watching Stiles when he noticed movement from the man.

He slowly leaned forward which in turn made the doctor sit up and take note too.

“It appears Stiles is waking up,” the Dr commented.

Derek watched as Stiles slowly regained consciousness, feeling slightly nervous because of the fact that Stiles might have sustained a head injury as he fell protecting Derek; there had been no way of knowing how bad his fall had been until he woke up.

When Stiles slowly came around, he felt like his head was throbbing, his body felt tender and the light was a little too bright for his eyes. As rough as it felt waking up, Stiles knew that he was okay. He had definitely seen better days, but he was just glad to still be alive.

Stiles’ eyes slowly focused on his surroundings - taking notice of where he was.

 He almost thought that he was back at the organisation’s headquarters and was about to go into a panic, but he settled down when he noticed Derek sitting nearby.

Stiles noticed every detail of the man; how he looked like he hadn’t slept for quite some times, how the corner of his mouth ticked up, the scowl he wore and a light in the man’s eyes he hadn’t seen before.

Stiles was relieved to see Derek... actually he felt more than relieved to see Derek, and if he was being honest, the feeling surprised him.

Derek couldn’t help but feel overcome with warmth at the sight of Stiles smiling at him.

It had been a feeling that he hadn’t felt for a very long time.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Stiles joked.

Derek couldn’t help but smile at Stiles’ ability to make a joke, even when there was nothing funny about the situation.

“I was just about to say the same to you,” Derek commented. “I think you might have gotten uglier actually...”

“If I have it’s because I’ve been spending too much time with you,” Stiles retorted. “Clearly your ugliness has been running off on me.”

Derek couldn’t stop a smirk from escaping.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Dr Deaton voiced, “but allow me to introduce myself Stiles. I am Alan Deaton.”

“Nice to meet you,” Stiles answered tentatively.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake Stiles,” Deaton said. “You sustained quite the injury. You nearly didn’t make it if the bullet fragments hadn’t been retrieved in time. How are you feeling?”

At the mention of bullet, Stiles had remembered exactly what had happened, and the trauma they had endured at the hands of Gerard, Dylan and Inner Vitality. They had started fighting their way out when he shot the guards that had held onto Scott.

Things had gotten hairy with the compound ready to explode within seconds too. They were about to escape when he had gotten shot as he tried saving Derek from one of the men in black suits.

“Uhm,” he started.

Stiles looked from the man to Derek, he didn’t know if the man was being sincere or not. He knew that if something was wrong Derek wouldn’t have been sitting there. He would have done something badass.

He saw Derek nod and a look in his eyes that said its okay so he knew he could answer the man without fear of anything bad happening.

 “I am feeling tender,” he said, “and my head throbs but I’m okay.”

“Good,” Deaton replied. “I must say you are quite the fighter to have survived Stiles.”

“Thanks,” he pursed.

“I’ll just do a few basic tests to document your body’s responses and if all checks out then you’ll be out of here in no time.”

Derek watched as Dr Deaton flashed a light into Stiles’ eyes, checked his eye movement and even his reflexes.  It was all quite boring really but Derek could not take his eyes off of Stiles and apparently neither could Stiles either.

Their eyes kept darting to and from each other.

Eventually Deaton had finished and then turned to regard them both.

“You are aware that you sustained a minor head injury when you stepped in front of a bullet for Derek here?”

“I did?”

“When bullets hit you, the force made you fall,” Derek explained. “The fall knocked you out. You would have bled out if we didn’t slow down your heart rate so we decided to shoot you with a coma-gun... it was a pretty big risk because we weren’t sure if it would save you or do greater damage.”

“I’m glad you took that risk,” he smiled at Derek.

“Well it was a risk that paid off,” Deaton said. “Other than a small bump on the head, you haven’t sustained a head injury.”

“That’s a relief,” he answered.

“I’m certain it must be,” Deaton smiled.

Derek was equally relieved to hear the doctor say that.

“I’m sure you will want to catch up with Derek so I’ll give you two your privacy,” Deaton stated, leaving the two men alone.

 The two men watched as Deaton left the room, leaving the two of them to each other’s company. Stiles and Derek then glanced at each other; both men with a lot on their mind but neither knowing how to voice their thoughts.

It was no surprise then that Stiles was the first one to speak up when the silence became unbearable.

 “How are you doing?”

“I should be asking you that,” Derek said. “You’ve been through a lot.”

“This is nothing,” Stiles playfully shrugged. “You should have seen me go through kindergarten... that was a lot.”

Derek couldn’t help but smile.

“How do you do that?” Derek asked, giving Stiles a once over.

“Do what?”

“Keep things light-hearted when you have every reason to wallow and be upset.”

“I used to be upset and wallow for a long time after my father died,” Stiles answered, “but I realised that it was not helping me. It only made me run my life further into the ground. I realised that I was leading a life my parents wouldn’t have wanted for me, so I made a change.”

Derek noticed that there were so many layers to the man; he was more complicated than what he had initially thought. It intrigued him, but more so he couldn’t help but feel connected to the man. He had been in a similar position in his life after his mother had died and if it hadn’t been for Peter then he didn’t know where he would’ve ended up.

The situation he was in wasn’t perfect but it could have been a lot worse.

“Still,” Derek said, “it’s commendable.”

“Thanks,” Stiles blushed.

Stiles felt himself him grow hot underneath Derek’s gaze.

He felt like he was being x-rayed when Derek looked at him like that. He felt naked and vulnerable under the man’s eyes; but instead of feeling intimidated, he knew that he had nothing to fear from the man. It was a different sensation from anything he had ever experienced.

He quickly tried to steer the topic away from himself.

“Where’s everyone else?” he asked. “What have I missed?”

“Your mother helped Dr Deaton remove the bullets,” Derek said, “and she wanted to stay by your side but we needed her to help us formulate a plan to bring an end to Inner Vitality. Everyone left thereafter and went to the safe house we were at after you escaped. It was the one that is the safest.”

“We will be meeting up with them once you’re healthy enough,” Derek continued, “but we’re not going to rush it. Right now you’re recovery is my only priority.”

“Is my mom okay?”

“She is,” he answered. “She was a bit shaken up but she is fine.”

“That’s a relief,” Stiles replied. “Did everyone else make it out alive from the building before it exploded?”

“I don’t know,” Derek said. “We’ve kept communication to a minimum in case they might be listening out.”

“Is that why you’re here?” Stiles asked. “To protect me in case we run into trouble from the men in black?”

“Something like that,” Derek answered evasively.

“So it’s just the two of us?”

Derek nodded.

“Okay,” Stiles said.

Stiles didn’t know why but Derek’s answer had caused an unexpected rush in him. Until he recovered, it would just be the two of them...alone.

For the first half an hour of being awake, Stiles was hyper aware of the fact that it was the two of them were alone but eventually his hyperawareness diminished and he soon relaxed.

He had time to survey his surroundings and noticed that he was in an underground bunker of sorts, and given by Derek’s explanation of the layout, there were 5 other rooms similar to his with the place that he had the operation a little further down the passage.

He knew that with Derek around that he was safe, but hearing the setup of their location from the man had made him feel safer.

They had spent the rest of the time playing I-Spy or speaking about happier memories from when they were younger. They tried to keep things upbeat and not too depressing.

It wasn’t long after that when Dr Deaton returned with food.

“I’m so hungry,” Stiles grumbled, stuffing fries into his mouth.

“Careful not to choke Stiles,” Dr Deaton stated, surprised by the man’s ferocity.

“Don’t worry about me Doc,” Stiles mumbled with a full mouth.

“You sure he’ll be fine?” Deaton mentioned to Derek.

“He’ll be fine,” Derek answered. “I was concerned about his eating style but soon learned not to be.”

“I’ll leave you too then,” Deaton replied, still looking at Stiles with concern.

“Do I really eat in such a shocking way?” Stiles asked when they were alone.

“A lion eats with more class than you do,” Derek deadpanned.

“Liar,” Stiles said causing Derek to smirk.

They continued to eat in silence after that, thoroughly enjoying the food the doctor had brought.

“Stiles,” Derek started when they had finished.

“Yeah?” Stiles said, taking a sip of his water.

“Why didn’t tell me about your mother?” Derek asked.

Stiles had known that the question was coming; he just hadn’t known when. He quickly organised his thoughts before answering the man.

“I didn’t know if I could trust you with something so big,” Stiles finally answered. “I know that you took quite a risk to rescue me from Inner Vitality when I escaped the first time, but I was still taking in the news and if I told you, you would have expected me to answer questions that I didn’t have the answers to.”

“It was nothing against you,” he continued. “I just felt that it would have created more trust issues and complications between us. I didn’t want to jeopardise the trust we were establishing with each other.”

When Stiles finished, he was fidgeting with his hands, not glancing at Derek, scared of what he might see in the man’s eyes.

“I understand,” Derek finally said. “You are right.”

“You’re not upset?”

“No,” Derek said. “I hadn’t given you much reason to trust me, and you were only trying to protect yourself... I understand why you didn’t tell me.”

“Thanks,” Stiles answered.

The two men had settled after that, not feeling the need to say anything.

Derek sat comfortably in his chair watching Stiles as the man lay in bed. Stiles was just about to dose off when he suddenly got the urge to go to the bathroom.

Stiles started climbing out of bed, when he felt a sharp pain in his right side where the bullets had hit him.

“Ouch,” he groaned.

“Are you okay?”

“Uhm,” he stammered. “Not really.”

“What’s it?” Derek asked.

“I need the bathroom,” Stiles answered, “and as I was about to move I felt a pain where the bullets hit.”

“Do you need help?”

“Uhm,” Stiles swallowed. “No.”

“You sure?”

“Yes,” he lied.

Derek watched as Stiles slowly moved from the bed, removing the covers and then attempt to stand up before sitting back down.

“Stiles,” Derek sighed. “I am here to help, and clearly you need my help. So can I?”

Stiles paused, noticing the sincerity and concern in Derek’s eyes. He wanted to show the man that he was okay, but he knew that he wouldn’t make it to the bathroom without Derek’s help.

“Okay,” Stiles answered.

“Thank you,” Derek said.

Derek slowly moved to Stiles’ left side and gently scooped the man up.

Stiles was muscular but was still relatively light in comparison to Derek’s build.

Stiles tried his best not think of the rock hard body he was pressed against as Derek carried him in his arms, but he failed. All he could feel was Derek’s body against his which made his pulse quicken. He tried to take a steady breath but all it did was fill his lungs with the sweet and sour smell of Derek.

The scent was intoxicating and mixed with the firm muscles holding onto him it didn’t take long for Stiles to feel his crotch area begin to stir.

The bathroom was next door to his room, so Derek didn’t have to carry him far but the man walked slowly as to prevent the injured man any discomfort in the short distance. Stiles could barely focus on anything else except Derek.

“Thank you,” Stiles mumbled, his skin feeling warm, after Derek put him down.

“I’ll be outside,” Derek said, pulling the door onwards but not closed.

Stiles had the hardest urinating experience of his life. Not only did his right side hurt like a bitch, but he had an erection too. It took him twice as long as what it normally did to get the job done.

He quickly finished and managed to get to the door where Derek was standing. Stiles wanted to try walking back but Derek insisted. Stiles also pretended not to notice the fact that when his hand accidentally grazed Derek’s crotch, the man’s member was also alert.

Derek moved slowly to return Stiles to bed because he didn’t want to cause the man further distress, but a part of Derek also loved the sensation of having the man in his arms.

 He eventually got to the bed and gently placed him down.

“Thanks for the help,” Stiles said.

“Pleasure,” Derek replied.

It didn’t take long after that for Stiles to fall asleep. Derek watched quietly as the man dosed off, his exhaustion taking over.

He knew himself well enough to know that he was developing feelings for the man, and he knew that that was a bad thing.

 It was a very complicated situation; he didn’t know if he was he developing feelings for Stiles because of who the man was, or if he was he developing feelings for Stiles because he reminded him of Jimmy and what they had?

He wanted to believe that he was developing feelings for Stiles, but every now and then he would catch himself thinking about how Stiles reminded him of Jimmy. He knew that it wasn’t fair to Stiles to be thinking of his deceased ex, and he knew that until then he was going to have to figure out what he wanted.

Derek had still been lost in his own thoughts, when he heard Stiles mumbling.

He could tell that the man was having nightmare because it had happened before. Waking Stiles would not help the man because would feel bad and he would still have nightmares after he fell asleep again.

Derek didn’t think too much about what he was doing, when he climbed onto Stiles bed and rested beside the man.

He had just planned to lie beside Stiles, hoping that it would relax him as it had ended up doing the last time. Derek was caught by surprise when Stiles nestled closer to him. Derek couldn’t help but stare at the man beside him; earlier thoughts returning to plague him.

Stiles was so different and completely his own person, he was tenacious, smart and tougher than he gave himself credit for. It was the fact that he made Derek smile, how idiosyncratic he was and just the fact that he constantly surprised him that had made Derek realise he was developing feelings for the man.

They hadn’t had a lot of time together, but the times that they were together, had been memorable and Derek had unintentionally started paying closer attention to whatever Stiles was doing. When he thought that Gerard had killed the young man, it had affected him in an unexpected way.

It was in that moment when he thought that Stiles was dead, that he realised he had been steadily growing fonder for the man.

Being beside Stiles the past couple of days had made given him enough time to figure that all out.

But that still didn’t mean he was ready to own up about his feelings. He needed to make one sure of what he felt before he acted on them, because if he wasn’t it would only lead to hurt feelings for them both.

 

* * *

 

 

“So when are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow,” Derek answered.

“It is wrong of me to say that I’m glad,” Stiles answered. “These past three days have been great but I can’t sit around and do nothing for much longer.”

“Agreed,” Derek said. “You still remember how to do this right?”

“Yes,” Stiles answered. “Take aim, exhale and then squeeze gently.”

Derek had been reluctant to have another target practice session with Stiles, but the man had been insistent and said that it gave him something to do, other than stay inside in the underground bunker.

Stiles followed his instruction and shot the empty tin cans; hit all five of them that were sporadically placed at the edge of the woods.

The first few times he had done it, he had missed the cans because of how tender his right side had been but soon enough he got the hang of it.

“When I took the shot at Scott’s guards,” Stiles started. “I pictured you teaching me.”

Derek stopped to look at the man.

“Weird I know,” he laughed, “but I heard you tell me to calm down and then clear my head when I shot them, so thank you.”

“I did nothing,” Derek said. “You were the one who managed to get us out of there Stiles, things could have gone horribly wrong but you kept your cool and were smart enough to get us all out.”

“Thanks,” Stiles blushed, “but still if it hadn’t been for your crash course in aiming a firearm then I could have easily injured Scott instead which would have been problematic.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself Stiles,” Derek said. “You’re smarter than what you think you are.”

Stiles just smiled at the man, feeling somewhat embarrassed, before he continued with his target practice.

“I can’t wait to see everyone,” Stiles mentioned. “Being cut off from them has been harder than I thought it would be.”

“It will be nice seeing them again,” Derek said. “Unfortunately things aren’t going to be easier though. We still have the Gerard situation to deal with.”

“Shit,” Stiles said. “I forgot about him...”

“He does present a particular problem,” Derek answered.

“Any idea what the group might do with him?”

“Probably try to get some information out of him,” Derek replied. “And then try to figure out a way to turn him in without giving him the opportunity to snake himself free.”

“I hope that everything works out,” Stiles commented.

“Me too,” Derek added.

Stiles stole a glance at Derek and saw an expression that he couldn’t quite place. He would have said it was hopeful but it wasn’t that...he figured that had he picked up on Derek’s cautious optimism.

He quickly returned his focus to the targets, but moved to quickly which sent a sharp pain jab him in his right side. He yelped out instantly, a bit louder than what he had anticipated.

Derek was instantly but his side, “Stiles are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Stiles answered, breathing slowly. “Just forgot about a friendly reminder from my body about the stitches was all.”

“You need me to take you to Deaton?”

“No I’m fine,” he said, facing Derek “I just moved too quickly.”

Stiles was surprised when he noticed how close the man was standing, but what he found even more surprising was the look of concern he found on Derek’s face. For a man who has an expert poker face to show such concern for him, affected Stiles more than what he expected.

It had in fact left him somewhat speechless.

“What is it?” Derek asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

Stiles just watched him instead of answering.

“Nothing,” he finally voiced.

Derek knew better than to believe Stiles, he noticed something as he was watching the man. He saw the man’s guard was lowered, he found that it was the perfect opportunity to ask him the question that has been increasingly plaguing him.

“Why did you do it?” Derek asked.

“Do what?” Stiles frowned.

“Jump in front of bullets for me,” he clarified. “You could’ve let the bullets hit me but you put yourself in harm’s way for me and I wanted to know why.”

“I...uhm,” Stiles muttered. “I was doing the same anything anyone else would’ve.”

“You weren’t,” he said.

Derek stared on at Stiles, watching as he tried focusing on his stance.

“I wanted to protect you,” he answered nonchalantly.

“Why?”

Stiles stopped and turned to Derek, “because you protected me.”

“I would’ve died if you didn’t risk your life for me,” Stiles continued. “I appreciate what you did because I know how dangerous it was so when I saw what was about to happen, I just followed my instinct and acted.”

Derek gazed into the man’s eyes, “Thank you Stiles.”

“It’s nothing,” he shrugged, blushing under the man’s gaze.

Stiles realised in that moment, as they were standing in the cold air with Derek right beside him, that he was falling for the man.

It was such a simple realisation with such huge complications.

In fact he knew that there was nothing simple about the realisation; it brought a whole load of shit that he didn’t want to deal with.

Derek had been staring at Stiles, watching the man figure something out. Stiles was easy to read when he had his guard down, but he had never seen such an expression on the man before. He had been so distracted by Stiles’ expression that he started focusing on the details on the man’s face.

The moles on his face, his rose coloured cheeks from the cold, his Italian looking eyebrows, the big brown eyes that were staring at him and drawing him into them. The tinge of redness to the man’s nose as the cold air swirled around them, and the pout of the man’s lips.

He had noticed all of this while staring at the man, neither one of them saying anything.

It didn’t take Derek long to catch on to what was happening because it had happened before between them. They would have these loaded glances that spoke volumes even though nothing was said, and this was one of those moments.

Derek didn’t know what he was doing but he took a step closer to Stiles, closing the already small gap between them even further. He tentatively brought his head closer to Stiles.

Stiles watched, noticing every minute action that Derek made.

As he did so, he noticed every small detail about Derek, the crease of his eyebrows, the permanent shadow that Derek had and the shape of his lips as he inched his face closer to Stiles.

Stiles took a ragged breath, the cold air filling his lungs, as he felt his body heat up at what was about to happen.

Neither man was thinking clearly, only letting their instinct and feelings guide them.

Stiles titled up his head in anticipation; hoping the moment their lips touched came soon.

Stiles noticed that Derek stopped after closing about 80% of the gap, tentatively waiting for a reaction from the man.

Stiles realised what Derek was doing, he was seeing if this was something that Stiles wanted too. Leaving the decision up to him whether he wanted to close the gap or not.

Stiles quickly closed the rest of the space between them, savouring the moment their lips met.

Stiles felt his pulse increase exponentially as they kissed, eagerly enjoying the sensation. Stiles was the first to tease his tongue against Derek’s lips, encouraging the man to let them deepen their kiss. Derek allowed Stiles entrance, which gave them an opportunity to taste each other.

Derek unconsciously placed his hand at Stiles’ lower back as he grasped a hold of the man, pulling him closer. Stiles felt his skin tingle as he let the sensation of the kiss spread across his entire body. As they continued kissing, they both felt their erections grow quickly, straining against their underwear, unable to get enough of each other.

The sudden sound a gun going off brought them back to the reality of their situation.

Stiles felt his body go still at the sound; Derek’s too.

The first thought Stiles had was that the organisation had found them and now they were about to die.

Both men turned to their surroundings, expecting to see men in black suits standing around them with their guns all aimed at them, but instead found nothing. It was only then that Stiles realised he was still holding onto the gun, and that he accidently squeezed the trigger as they were kissing.

Derek noticed where Stiles was looking and realised what had happened.

“Sorry,” Stiles muttered, placing down the gun. “I forgot that I had that in my hand.”

It was in that moment that both men had realised what had happened between them, and as great as it felt, they both realised that doing so had just opened a whole other can of worms.

Stiles could see the wheels turning on Derek’s face, which in turn made his wheels start spinning too.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they had done and that their kiss had been something they both wanted, but weren’t ready to deal with. Stiles wanted the kiss to continue but the moment had passed.

Reality had hit them with the force of a sledgehammer.

“I think we should stop,” Derek announced.

“Oh okay,” Stiles said. “Uh yeah...I think I’ve had enough practice today.”

“Okay...” Derek said.

“Yeah,” Stiles nodded.

“I’ll clear up here,” Derek said. “You can go ahead.”

“Okay,” Stiles awkwardly. “See you back inside.”

As Stiles started making his way back to the house, the ramifications of what had happened had started settling in. He knew that there was something happening between him and Derek but he didn’t know what it meant.

They obviously were attracted to each other.

He wondered if he liked Derek because their situation encouraged him to seek for a connection with someone who he could relate to or because he really liked the man? Did Derek kiss him because the man liked him or because he reminded him of Jimmy?

All these thoughts and more swirled around Stiles’ head. It was a very complicated situation, and as Stiles made his way back to the house alone, he grew more nervous and anxious about the kiss.

The kiss, as amazing as it was, could be the thing that hurts him greater than what Inner Vitality could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Apologies for the delay. I had to make a few drastic changes so because I was lazy I became side-tracked, even starting and completing another fic, and had to finish that before returning to this story. The chapters were written but a few plot points had to be adapted. I promise that I will finish this fic as it’s the only thing I’m writing at the moment.  
> 2\. The plotting of this may be far-fetched but I will need a small bit of leeway. Orphan Black and Teen Wolf have the advantage of having their own writer’s rooms and being a TV show. I am just a single writer.  
> 3\. Feel free to review and let me know your thoughts in the comments section.  
> 4\. If you want to connect with me: www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com is the place to do so.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any and all errors.

“Stiles,” a voice shook him.

Stiles jerked awake. He immediately looked around at his surroundings; he was at Derek’s safe house. He breathed a little easier; the tension that had suddenly crept into his limbs dissipated as he registered where he was.

He searched for voice that called him, not searching far before realising who it was.

“What is it?” Stiles questioned, “Is something wrong?”

“No, everything is fine,” Derek said. “Everyone is eager to see you and sent me to wake you up.”

Stiles inhaled heavily as he wiped his hand over his face. It had been a rough couple of few weeks and his body was still feeling a bit tender but for the most part he was fine. It was afternoon by the look of the sunlight outside the window.

They drove the whole of the previous night and arrived at the safe house in the early hours of the morning. Stiles would’ve slept in the car ride, but he didn’t want Derek to drive without company so he stayed awake in solidarity- not that it made much difference.

Things had been a bit awkward between them after their kiss, but apparently they had both decided to ignore that fact and continued on as if nothing was wrong.

It worked for the most part, but other times the kiss hung over them like a rain cloud following them around. The car ride had been one of those moments where the fact that they kissed couldn’t be escaped because of their proximity to each other.

Stiles had put on music as distraction and made the occasional comment but for the most part there was always a little tension underscoring their conversation.

He had been relieved when they had made it back to the safe house last night.

Slowly, Stiles found the cobwebs clear from his mind and he became re-orientated with their situation. He was slowly re-entering the world of secret organisations and deadly situations that they had been given a temporary break from.

“It feels like it’s been ages since I last saw everyone,” Stiles commented.

“Well it has been about a week,” Derek said.

Stiles didn’t know how he felt; on the one hand he had been excited to see everyone again –especially his mother- but on the other hand, he didn’t know what news awaited him. His little accident had given him a little reprieve from all the drama, which he had appreciated, but being clueless about what came next had brought him less comfort about their situation.

He just hoped that nothing particularly bad had happened.

“How’s everyone?” he tentatively started.

“They’re mostly okay,” Derek replied.

“Mostly?” Stiles questioned. “Did Scott, Allison and Isaac make it out? Where is Lydia and Storm? And my mom?”

“Storm, Lydia and your mom are fine- they’re doing great,” Derek answered. “Storm had an injury but it was nothing major. As for Isaac and Scott, well they are managing...”

“How do you mean?”

Derek shifted awkwardly, staring Stiles in his eyes.

Stiles could tell that there was something Derek was struggling to get out.

“Your friend Allison,” Derek started. “She died.”

As soon as Derek said the words, Stiles felt his worst fears came true.

He had been hopeful for a moment that everything had gone okay and that by some miracle they had all managed to escape but now he got delivered the news that he had been dreading.

Before Stiles left Beacon Hills, Scott and Allison had been the only true friends he had ever had. Scott had been there throughout the drama with his father and mother, and even when Stiles had started pulling away from their company their never gave up on him.

Stiles could only imagine how Scott must be feeling because he had just lost the love of his life. The one person he thought he would spend the rest of his days with, had just been taken away from him. Allison had been the first girl that Scott ever dated and the only one he had ever loved.

Stiles wanted to do nothing more than comfort and speak to his friend but he knew that there was nothing he could say that would help his friend feel better. Only time would help heal his pain.

“How did it happen?” Stiles finally managed when he eventually found his voice.

 “She was protecting Scott and Isaac as they were making their way out of the building,” Derek explained. “They were trying to escape through the building when they swarmed the guards, and almost didn’t make it out but then she locked down a section of the building without Scott knowing about it and then forced them to leave.”

“Wow,” Stiles said.

“Scott wanted to stay with her,” Derek continued, “and if it hadn’t been for her forcing him to go and Isaac pulling him out of the building then Scott would’ve died alongside Allison. He didn’t want to leave her but he had no choice.”

Stiles realised that it must have been heartbreaking for Scott to have had endured that. It was an impossible situation that he had been placed in and knowing Scott, the man would’ve easily stayed with Allison, but she would have never allowed him to do that. She would do anything to protect him.

“Scott’s been keeping to himself mostly,” Derek said. “Isaac is the only one he ever really spends time with, which is understandable. Actually both of them have been supporting each other through what had happened.”

Scott spending time with Isaac made perfect sense because Isaac was the only one who could understand what he was going through. The two men had both lost the people they loved.

As much as anyone could sympathise with their situation, they were the only ones who could empathise with what each other was feeling. They were both grieving the loss of the people they thought they would spend forever with.

Stiles knew that Scott was strong enough to get through this but it would take time.

“It just makes me want bring down Inner Vitality even more,” Stiles said, feeling anger rise within him. “So many innocent lives have been taken by the organisation just so that they could get away with their experimentation and illegal dealings. They need to pay for this.”

Allison, Jimmy and Stephen had all lost their lives because of what the organisation was doing. All that anyone wanted was to live their lives without fear of being used by some corporation to further their own agenda and treat people like property that they can do whatever they want with.

It was wrong, and they needed to be stopped. 

 “We need to stop them Derek,” Stiles answered.

“I know,” he answered, “and we will.”

Stiles felt determined to end all of this.

When he had first discovered all of this, he wanted to help because what was happening was wrong, but now that so many people had suffered pointless deaths, and the fact that he too had recently been put through hell by the organisation, he wanted to make sure that nothing like this ever happened again to anyone else.

“What do we do next?” Stiles asked.

“That is what we’re going to figure out,” Derek answered, “but in order for us to do this you need to get ready.”

“Okay,” Stiles answered.

Derek was about to go when Stiles thought of something that couldn’t wait.

“What about Gerard?” he asked. “Where has he been?”

“In the basement,” Derek replied. “Your mother, Peter and Storm has been handling him. They give him food but the rest of the time he is kept in a coma state. He hasn’t been as forthcoming with answers as what we would like but we have been learning information from him so it’s been a slow process.”

 Stiles nodded, taking in everything Derek said.

 “…but we’ll discuss this further downstairs,” Derek continued. “So grab a shower and then join us.”

Stiles gave Derek a grateful look.

When Derek left the room, Stiles quickly tried clearing his head and stop his mind from thinking about his predicament as he went to the bathroom.

Stiles was grateful for the shower. He felt grimy, exhausted, dirty, and sluggish- like he was covered in some type of goo. For the most part it was all psychological; Stiles let himself go numb and just let the hot water attack his limbs. He was surprised that he wasn’t curled up in a ball nor had a mental breakdown yet over everything that had happened.

He had been put through the ringer by being tortured, pretending to be other people and witnessing clones get killed in front of him. He even fired a gun at evil people of his own accord. He wasn’t the same person he had been when he arrived.  He had proven to himself that he was stronger than what he thought he was; strength he was sure to have inherited from his parents, and he was glad to them for giving him that gift.

Not long after Stiles showered, the chatter he had heard coming down the stairs stopped as everyone was suddenly gawking at him. There was a weird vibe hanging in the room. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his Dylan impersonation thing from the last time they saw him that had them freaked or something else entirely.

 All he knew was that they were staring at him and it was unnerving.

“So,” Stiles said, “in case you are wondering, I am Stiles. I won’t suddenly bomb us or go deranged or slap you across the face...so everyone can breathe. Let’s try it actually- inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale.”

 Stiles did the inhale and exhale gesture along with it.

As stupid as it felt, everyone seemed a bit more relaxed at what he was doing. Like the stupidity of his actions reassured them that he was in fact Stiles. A smile quickly broke over his mother face as she quickly rushed towards him and gave him a hug.

“Stiles,” she gasped, clutching tightly onto her son.

“Ow,” he groaned with a smile. “Careful mom, I’m still a bit tender.”

“Sorry,” she smiled, her tears welling up. “I’m just really happy to see you.”

“Me too,” he said.

Stiles’ relationship with his mother was complicated.

He wasn’t exactly ready to get past the fact that she left him and his father, but she had helped save his life numerous times these past few weeks. He understood everything she had done and he was glad to have her with him, but it was a very delicate situation.

The issues aside, she was still his mother, and she always would be.

“I missed you so much,” she cried. “I thought that we had lost you… I was going out of my mind with worry. I wanted to stay by your side so badly.”

“It’s okay now mom,” he smiled. “I’m fine.”

Stiles hugged his mother as tightly as he could; they stood like that for a while not saying anything.

 It was like the warmth from the hug was radiating through him. His mother pulled back from the hug and gave him a kiss on the temple. Who knew that a simple hug could affect you in such a positive way? Sometimes all you need is to hug someone.

“AND we aren’t staring at you for that reason my silly son,” his mother said loud enough for everyone to hear. “We are staring in awe; if it wasn’t for what you did then we wouldn’t all be here.  You put your life on the line for us Stiles, and we are so grateful to you for doing that.”

Stiles felt hot underneath everyone’s gaze. He was already just coming to terms with his own inner strength, and seeing everyone one else bear witness to that made him feel shy. He couldn’t help but feel himself blush at their attention.

“Are you blushing?” Stuart gasped.

“No,” Stiles stuttered trying to come up with a response, “I go red because... sometimes I’m... just too awesome for myself to bear.”

“Someone make him stop before I have to,” Peter sassed. 

“Do you want to start a queue for my autograph or you will you ask me later...” Stiles winked at Peter.

Everyone just groaned before they had started laughing.

 “All jokes aside, it is good to see you Stiles,” Peter replied. “I’m glad you made you a full recovery.”

“Really?” Stiles said, a bit surprised. “You mean that or you just saying that to be polite?”

Peter just rolled his eyes before giving way to Stuart.

“Is it me or have we met before?” Stiles joked.

“I don’t know,” Stuart replied giving Stiles the up-and-down look. “There is something familiar about you…I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Stiles couldn’t help but laugh at Stuart’s reply as he gave the man a hug, “Thanks for that.”

“Glad I could help,” Stuart replied. “Glad you’re alive and well.”

“Me too Stuart,” Stiles smiled. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” he said, “but shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“I’m fine,” Stiles replied. “A little tender but all good thanks.”

“That’s good.”

“How’s the leg doing?”

“As good as new,” Stuart smiled, stretching out his leg.

“Great,” Stiles smiled.

“You two are such dorks,” Storm interrupted, shaking his head.

“Nice to see you too G.I Joe,” Stiles retorted.

“Likewise Stiles,” he said. “I just wanted to say thanks for what you did because if it wasn’t for your quick thinking and convincing acting then things could have easily gone wrong and we wouldn’t be here.”

“I did nothing,” he shrugged. “It was everyone else’s quick reacting that helped us get out.”

“Stiles,” Storm sighed, “would you stop being so humble and accept my thanks. I won’t lie because for a moment you had me fooled- even had me thinking that you were really Dylan the whole time who pretending to be Stiles when you were with us- but you did great…actually you did amazingly. It’s important that you realise it.”

Stiles felt uncomfortable under the praise from Storm but he nodded before replying with, “Thanks. It means a lot.”

Everyone knew that Stiles didn’t like being the centre of attention, so he tried his best displace it. Well technically that was a lie. Being the centre of attention was something Stiles always wanted back in his high school days but now that he had a bit of it, he had to admit that it felt nice. Though he was sure it was because the people who gave him their attention was people he actually cared about.

Stiles was about to say something when the smell of food soon overpowered his senses.

“What smells so good?”

“Go find out,” his mother smiled. “Though if memory serves, I am sure you can tell exactly what it is from the aroma alone.”

Stiles laughed at that as he excused himself before following the aroma all the way to the kitchen. He couldn’t help but feel his mouth water at the smell. He found that food was awaiting him just like Derek had promised it would be. 

“Oh wow,” Stiles said.

He was surprised by the large amount of food on the table. It all looked extremely mouth watering and he barely had a moment to appreciate it as he dug in and started eating. Eventually he realised that Derek was looking at him with a disturbed yet not surprised look on his face.

“Thnk you so mch, ths tastes so gud,” Stiles muttered with the food in his mouth.

“Enjoy it,” Derek smirked.  “I will be inside if you need me.”

Stiles devoured his food as if it was air. He didn’t realise how hungry he had been until he kept eat and eating.

Stiles was so full, he felt like he couldn’t move when he heard the sound of voices coming from outside the backdoor. He walked out to see that Scott and Isaac were standing outside the safe house. He was so relieved to have seen them standing there, looking exhausted, but all still in one piece.

Stiles walked outside and without saying a word gave Scott a tight hug.  He feel the tears well up in his eyes as his friend had gone through so much to protect him and it had led to his friend losing his wife.

“I am so sorry,” was all that he could say. “We’ll make them pay.”

Scott clutched onto Stiles, tears starting to roll down his face.

“I’m really happy to see you Stiles,” Scott said. “Glad you made it back.”

Stiles just nodded, still hugging his friend.

 Stiles released Scott then turned to Isaac, who he barely knew, but decided to hug him too.

“I’m sorry about Stephen,” Stiles said, when the broke apart. “I would’ve have helped him had I known what Gerard would do.”

“It’s not your fault,” Isaac replied. “Thanks for what you did for us Stiles.”

Stiles nodded.

They were soon interrupted when Stuart came popping his head outside the backdoor and told them that they were all gathering in the lounge.

Everyone quickly settled around in the lounge. Scott and Isaac were sitting next to each other. Peter, Derek and Storm were naturally standing while Stuart, Lydia and Claudia sat on the sofas and Stiles crossed his legs sitting on the floor.

 “So what are we going to do next?” Stiles asked when the silence became too much. “We have an unconscious Gerard in our basement, with no clue whether or not the organisation will strike again?”

“As much as I would like to kill the man,” Storm started. “Killing him, would remove the ability of us holding someone accountable.

“I agree,” Peter voiced. “He has every reason to burn in hell but we would be foolish to eliminate him.”

“He was able to give us information regarding the names of the other people involved in the operation,” Stiles’ mother added, “but the issue is what do we do next?”

“The information from the briefcase you passed onto us,” Stuart said to Stiles, “was forwarded to one of my friends. She has been trying to make sense of the info.”

“We usually had one of my lab tech connections make sense of the information,” Peter added, “but it was too risky considering that we were at the safe house. I am usually with him when he makes his notes on the information that I’ve given him.”

“Okay, and the stuff from the lockers?” Stiles asked.

“I think I saw Dylan set it alight as we were being injected with that drug when they ambushed us,” Lydia said.

“That’s unfortunate,” Claudia sighed, “I was really hoping to get a look at what was in the lockers.”

“I know what was in it,” Stiles volunteered.

“What?” everyone exclaimed.

“It was the information that Inner Vitality had about the whole operations,” Stiles said, “and everything they are doing with the clones. We aren’t the only genetic stream…There are other clones out there.”

 “Why are we only finding out about this now?” Storm said.

“Things got a bit hairy when we came back,” Derek explained, “And when Stiles got injured I had forgotten about it because of everything else that had happened.”

“Did you know about this?” Stiles asked his mother.

“To my knowledge Inner Vitality has only been studying the genetic sequencing of your DNA, so the testing and the experiments that monitor how you function and if your function is any different to ours...”

“You sure that’s all that Inner Vitality did?” Derek questioned.

“Yes.”

“Then what about the organ selling?”

“The what?” Stuart asked.

“The organisation has been involved in selling some of the organs of the clones to the highest bidder and also on the black market to make more money and fund their dealings,” Derek explained.

“I know nothing of that...” Claudia replied. “You’re sure it said Inner Vitality? Didn’t you mistake another organisation for it? I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a subsidiary...”

“There was another name but it didn’t seem important,” Stiles replied, “it just had Inner Vitality in huge on the page and something about ‘the Dyad Institute’?”

“Wasn’t that the name that Dylan had mentioned when he was torturing us?” Stuart asked. “He mentioned something about eradicating the filth from Dyad Institute?”

“Yes,” Storm said, “He mentioned Prolethians  and Neolutionists; and that he and Gerard were trying to rectify the mistakes that were being made and saving our souls.”

“I remember now,” Stiles said as the memory returned.

“I wasn’t sure about what exactly Gerard had said,” Scott voiced, “but I overheard him saying once that the Proleithans would not stand for what Dyad was doing and would make sure they suffer? I thought he was talking about his favourite Lacrosse or Football teams?”

“It makes sense now,” Claudia explained. “I thought that Gereard was going to report us but it seems painfully obvious now that he was going to kill us. I had never heard the name Dyad before until that day when Dr Leekie was visiting Inner Vitality. He mentioned being a representative from them and being interested in working with Inner Vitality. Maybe that was why Gerard killed Dr Leekie…”

“…because he was carrying out the Prolethians plan of keeping the world pure and saving our souls by killing off the clones,” Stiles said.

“Damn,” Scott said. “He is crazier than what I thought he was.”

“He must have been planning this for such a long time?” Lydia said.

“Looks like it,” Stuart said.

“So does that mean we have to worry about Prolethians now too?” Storm asked.

Everyone just kept quiet, letting the question sink in.

“I hope not,” Stiles eventually said.    

“So now what?” Scott asked.

“That is the million dollar question,” Peter stated.

Stiles didn’t know what they were going to do. He had thought that the worst of their situation was over but this was still a convoluted conundrum, something that could blow up in their faces at any time.

 Stiles was looking around, seeing the faces of everyone who had something to lose. They needed to figure out a way that allowed them to stop living their lives in fear and in secret. Stiles spotted the photo of Jimmy in his uniform, and an idea on what to do next had suddenly hit.

“We call a press conference,” Stiles announced.

“How do we do that?” Stuart questioned.

“At the police station where Jimmy used to work,” Stiles explained.

“Can we do it?” Lydia asked. “Is it even possible?”

“Jimmy was put back on suspension after my boardroom antic so they don’t know that he died,” Stiles explained, “To their minds Jimmy threw up during the questioning and it was decided that it would be reconvened.”

“You threw up during the hearing?” Peter questioned.

“Well it’s not exactly easy pretending to be someone! I basically had to remember everything about the shooting he was being questioned about, and learn about Jimmy and his mannerisms in a night. It was too much for me to handle okay?”

“You managed extremely well with the Dylan thing and you only had a few minutes to get it together. You really had me worried that you were going to kill Scott,” his mother voiced.

“Playing a madman is easier than a cop,” Stiles said, “Also being back in a police precinct had an effect on me that I didn’t expect. Ever since dad died, I avoid them. When I was going into the building I was fine but then I think that subconsciously being back in a precinct was getting to me and I couldn’t remember all of Jimmy’s notes.” 

“But can you handle it Stiles?” his mother queried, the concern very thick in her voice.

Stiles would be lying if he said that he wasn’t worried about letting something slip or having things go awry; he would be absolutely clueless on how to handle it. It did frighten him- immensely. Though with everything considered is there even another way for them to go about it? In Stiles’ opinion, he didn’t see any other way.

“Are we seriously considering this?” Peter enquired.

“If someone has a better plan then I am all ears?” Stiles said.

“Why don’t we just leak the information ourselves?” Isaac offered.

“It will become another one of those internet conspiracy theories in less than 5 minutes,” Stuart offered. “Believe me; I’ve bared witness to more than a few news stories that got relegated to being pieces of fiction because they seemed too good to be true. To the rest of the world, human cloning is still decades away.”

“Revealing this will be opening a can of worms,” Storm added. “It is a can of worms that needs opening as far as I am concerned.  I am tired of feeling like my family’s life can be upended at any moment.”

“Then we really have no option but to follow through with Stiles’ idea?” Lydia commented.

Everyone was sitting in silence. No one really offering anything else; he knew then that they had their answer. They were going to go through with this one way or another.

“It is the only way we can truly guarantee our freedom,” Stiles continued, “It is easy enough to shut down one writer or one source where the information is coming from but a press conference is something else…”

“I will help you,” Derek stated. “I know most of the information that you will require and without me you will not be able to get through this without being arrested. Impersonating a cop is a federal offence.”

“Believe me,” Scott added managing to smile, “that is something Stiles and I know too well.”

“So we are all set?” Peter gauged.

“Looks like it,” Stiles said.

“Then let’s get to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoying the story.  
> 1\. Ooh thinks are getting tense.  
> 2\. Feel free to let me know your thoughts and comments and questions…  
> 3\. I highly recommend watching Orphan Black… Things are going to be getting really super cray in Season 3 if the teaser trailer is anything to go by.  
> 4\. If you want to get in touch: www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for all errors. Enjoy.

“Here you are!” she said. “I’ve been trying to get through to you but silence.”

“Sorry,” Stuart replied to the face on the screen, “It’s been a very hectic couple of days.  What have you found Cosima?”

“It’s remarkable actually,” she explained, “I couldn’t believe it when I saw the information. You know how the liver has regenerative properties? So when you donate a bit of your liver, it grows back? Basically the information you sent me shows how the regenerative properties of the liver has been expanded to other organs.”

“How is that possible?”

“Stem cells,” she answered excitedly. “They use stem cells that have altered them in a way that stops the host of these stem cells from ever really getting sick; the body just regenerates itself. You heard of that story of the man who couldn’t get HIV because he had been born with an immune system that locked his antibodies and stopped the virus from latching on the antibodies and reproducing? Well it’s similar to that actually.”

“They even have a breakdown of showcasing how this would work in the human body,” Cosima exclaimed. “It’s a scientific breakthrough. If this information got out then it would not only redefine medicine but also science in general.”

Stuart continued listening to what she was saying, which was basically a confirmation of everything Stiles’ mother had told them, only this time she gave them a detailed explanation and validation from someone who had more expertise than what Claudia did.

“Thank you Cosima,” Stuart said. “You don’t realise how important this information has been and how grateful I am to have your help with this.”

“Glad I could help you Stuart!” she smiled.

“Thank you for being so understanding about keeping this secret,” he said.

“No,” she smiled. “I understand completely. I think that this information needs to be out there but I understand that there must be a very important reason why you’re keeping this private and secretive so it must be important.”

“It is,” he said. “Thank you so much Cosima, you have no idea how truly amazing you’ve been.”

“Oh believe me, I know,” she teased. “I’m just amazing all the time.”

“Indeed you are,” he smiled. “It’s been nice catching up but I really need to go…”

“Okay Stuart,” she answered. “Don’t be a stranger! We have been missing you from our League of Legends battles.”

“I promise that once I get my offline life sorted,” he blushed shifting uncomfortably, “I will be back.”

“Is there even such a thing as an ‘offline life’ for you?”

“Surprisingly yes,” he smirked.  “Who knew?”

“Wow, the apocalypse must be starting soon then...” Cosima said shaking her head in disbelief.

Stuart just laughed at that.

“I hope to meet you soon in battle, fellow warrior!” she laughed.

“Same here,” he nodded. “Bye Cosima.”

They both ended the Skype chat and Stuart looked above the screen of his laptop; trying not to look anyone in the eye. He hoped that they didn’t witness his blushing but he already knew the answer to that. He also knew that it would be asking for too much him when he hoped no one asked him about L.O.L.

“League of Legends?” Stiles laughed.

“It’s a platform where likeminded gamers can come together and interact with each other,” Stuart responded calmly. “Don’t judge what you don’t know.”

“Stiles stop teasing Stuart,” Claudia reprimanded, “Or need I remind you about your Ironman bed sheets that you had at one stage.”

Stiles started going red as he recalled the ones that his mother were referring to.

“You’re a Marvel snob?” Stuart asked.

“Oh don’t tell me you are a DC dork?”

“There is nothing dorkish about Superman and Batman,” Stuart started. “They are one of the most iconic superheroes ever.”

“Batman with his “My parents were killed” angst and the “I got stuck in a well because I silly and freaked out when the bats swarmed” trauma? Then you have Superman with his high and mighty Jesus complex and how nothing defeats him but some small green rock that makes him weak?”

“Well that is better than the measly group of heroes that Marvel has,” Stuart responded, “Like Spiderman is any better? He is just some kid who got bit by a _special spider_ and then developed some spidery powers? Talk about lame. His “parents being killed” and the “my grandfather died because of me” angst were more unbearable than anything Batman went through. Don’t even get me started on Tony Stark….”

Stiles was about to respond but he realised that everyone was staring in disbelief as he and Stuart were having a argument over comic book characters, even though they had other important things to discuss. He decided to let it go and be the bigger man. He hadn’t even gotten around to talking about The Hulk or X-men either.  He just sighed and took a moment to calm down by getting up to pour himself a glass of water. He needed to cool down before he said something he regretted. When he returned, he saw that everyone else was filling in Peter and Derek on what had happened while they were outside.

“Ah, my lovable nerd,” Peter laughed looking endearingly at Stuart. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me?”

“Well that was a given,” Peter leaned over kissing Stuart in front of everyone.

Several times throats were clear but yet they continued as if they were alone. It was only when Peter decided to relent their kiss did they stop. Stuart’s face was red and his lips swollen from the intensity of their kiss. Stuart tried to be subtle when he was adjusting his pants but everyone in the room was well aware of the situation in his trousers.

Stiles couldn’t believe how hot the kiss had been, and a little odd because it gave him third person perspective of what it looked like when he kissed someone. As soon as Stiles thought that, he couldn’t help but think back to the amazing kiss that he and Derek had shared in the woods. It had been a sensation he had never ever experienced before as his entire body felt the kiss radiate throughout him.

Stiles couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealously as he watched Stuart and Peter together. He unintentionally cast a glance at Derek and watched him look on at the antics before him. Stiles caught himself just in time and diverted his gaze to somewhere non-specific. Stiles knew he shouldn’t allow himself his feelings for Derek to develop further, but it’s easier said than done.

He already knew the feelings were there, he just had to figure out how to stop them.

Derek thought that Stiles was looking at him but he wasn’t sure if he had imagined it or if it had been real. Stiles had a concerned frown creasing his forehead, for some inexplicable reason Derek felt like he wanted to assure Stiles that everything would be okay. He cleared his mind and tried to not let his mind linger on such thoughts. Derek soon caught everyone’s attention before he started talking.

“Stiles got in contact with Art, Jimmy’s police partner, and we were able to organise the press conference for tomorrow,” Derek started. “Thankfully Stiles was able to convince Art and the Lieutenant,  about having a press conference considering that he had to be vague, but it did come at a price. Jimmy had been on suspension before he died because he shot someone named Matt Daehler...”

“Was this the Matt who worked for the organisation?” Scott interrupted. ”I used to know him, not well but enough to know he was just as mad as Dylan.”

Derek nodded.

“That explains why they didn’t want us to dispose of the body like we usually did,” Scott mumbled.

“What do mean?” Stiles questioned.

“Dylan instructed us to leave Matt’s body and replaced the gun in his hand with a cell phone,” Scott explained. “The crime scene was believable enough to get Jimmy suspended. I tried to go back to the scene but by the time I was released from duty that day it was too late and Jimmy unfortunately got called into question.”

“That is why I had that hearing,” Stiles comprehended. “So that they could find out what really happened. Shit...”

“It was rough on Jimmy,” Derek said tentatively.

Stiles wondered how hard it must be for Derek to speak about Jimmy.  Derek had explained that their romantic relationship had been over but there still had to have been something if the man was willing enough to sleep with Stiles, whom he thought was Jimmy.

It was a complicated situation because now the fact that their kiss in the woods had left him confused as to what was happening between them. Stiles didn’t know if it was a momentary impulse or something deeper. Their longing glances at each other would suggest the latter but he could not be sure…  

 “It will be rough for on you too Stiles,” Derek continued after a moment, “but you will be fine.”

“I am not so sure.”

“The conference shouldn’t be an issue though?” Lydia said. “We’ve been working on your speech. You can just read it if you want to.”

“It’s not the conference he is worried about,” Derek said. “As part of getting permission for a press conference, Stiles has to have the hearing beforehand. I will help him through the hearing and also the press conference. Almost everyone already at the precinct knows me so having me nearby could alleviate any other issues.”

Stiles was surprised by how Derek knew that it was the hearing that had him freaked. He hoped that this time it would a lot easier. Having Derek nearby lifted an enormous weight off his shoulders because if he had another freak-out then things would undoubtedly go horrifically worse than the first hearing. It could even land Stiles in prison. He was extremely relieved that he would have Derek helping him through it.

 “Can’t they wait a few days?” Claudia protested.

“I wish they could Mom but they are weary of any antics especially after what happened the last time,” Stiles said. “Besides I’d much rather have it over than have me stressing about the hearing for days.”

“As long as you are going to be fine,” she said placing her hand on his cheek. “Derek I want you to promise me that you will protect my son.”

Derek looked over to Stiles, before he was looking at Claudia.

“I promise,” Derek nodded.

 “What are we to do about Gerard?” Stuart asked.

“He will be coming with Isaac, Storm and me,” Peter said.

“Is Isaac okay to do this?” Scott voiced. “Are you okay to do this Isaac?”

Isaac was slightly annoyed that Scott thought him incapable to carrying out this task, but when he looked into Scott’s eyes he saw the concern behind the question. He didn’t expect to see the concern in Scott’s eyes; it had thwarted him slightly.

“Uh,” he uttered, “I appreciate the concern but I will be fine.”

“Are you sure Isaac?” Scott repeated.

“Yes,” he said gently squeezing Scott’s knee. “I will be fine.”

“Are you going to be waking Gerard up for this?” Storm asked.

“Unfortunately we will have to,” Claudia said. “He has been in and out of it for the past week and the serum was not designed for extended periods of time. We risk memory loss and brain damage if we leave him under longer than necessary.”

“We will wake him up and make sure that he is provided for before we turn him over to the authorities,” Peter said. “We are taking him in later than what Stiles and Derek will be going in as to reduce any chance of an ambush or anything going wrong.”

Everyone nodded; you could sense that they were ready for all of it to be over. It’s been a rough journey for all involved. Stiles may have only stumbled into this recently but it has a challenging couple of weeks that he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy. They have lost people along the way because of the organisation. It was unnecessary that it had to happen.

They quickly concluded the meeting and everyone was on their way to keep themselves busy for the rest of the night. Stiles went over to Derek where he told him that he just wanted to talk to his mother. Studying for tomorrow was important but he needed to talk to her.

Stiles pulled his mother aside as he asked a question that has been niggling at him. He would have just made himself forget about it but the issue was he couldn’t and Stiles was compelled to know the answer. His mind wouldn’t let him be if he didn’t get the answer from her.

“Was my coming here random?”

“What?” she replied with a perplexed expression.

“Was my coming to this town planned? All I know is that Scott and Allison invited me then fast forward a bit and here we are,” he explained. “Did you organise for them to get me here? I won’t be angry if you did but the question won’t leave me alone.”

She looked at her son, “Stiles I would never have wanted you to be here if I knew that you were going to get involved. Once I knew who Scott was I didn’t try to influence him in any way to get you here. I assume that was them just being polite. I tried to keep tabs on you but you moved around so often that it made it difficult for me to do so I resigned myself to not seeing you until Allison mentioned that you had come into town; I didn’t know that you were involved in all of this.”

“Scott did some digging,” Claudia continued, “after they killed Jimmy. Dylan wanted to find out where he had ditched the bag so they had to access the cameras. It was easy for him to track you with all the cameras around on the roads but Scott covered for you. He investigated further and then found out that you were impersonating Jimmy.  After he told me, I came clean to them about knowing you and then when Dylan almost ambushed your group I knew that we had to get you before he did so then Scott got you to me.”

Stiles hadn’t expected all that from his mother. He was anticipating a simple yes or no answer and for her to not elaborate on it but he was glad that she did. He always valued honesty; it was a trait that his father had taught him to appreciate. He hated lying to his father when they were growing up because he felt like he was putting up a wedge between them but he only did so selectively. Stiles was honest, sometimes to a fault, but rather that as opposed to being dishonest with people. It really made Stiles so grateful that his mother was telling him.

Stiles understood that his relationship with his mother was complicated.

He wasn’t exactly ready to get past the fact that she left him and his father, but she had helped save his life numerous times these past few weeks. He understood everything she had done and he was glad to have her with him, but it was a very delicate situation.

“Thank You,” he sighed as he gave his mom a hug. “I really appreciate that you told me all of that.”

She quickly returned the gesture; holding the son whom she gave up to protect in her arms. It was often times like these that Claudia never wanted to let Stiles go. She loved him and the thought that he had been hurting because of her decision all those years back was hard to handle, but it was also because of that, that she was able to experience these moments with him now.

He eventually let go of his mother, blinking away the tears that were forming in his eyes and went over to where Derek was lingering around having witnessed the interaction with his mother.

“You okay?”

“Yes,” Stiles replied. “Yes, I am okay thank you for asking.”

Derek nodded.

Stiles wasn’t sure if he imagined it but he thought that he saw a bit of worry behind Derek’s eyes. It was probably nothing but the thought of Derek being worried about him was something that made Stiles smlie.

“You ready to go over these notes for tomorrow?” Derek asked.

“Let’s get to it!” Stiles smirked.

Except when they had gotten down to it, they had been off to a slow start. They weren’t getting anywhere and Derek could tell it was because Stiles was distracted. Eventually he realised that they would get nothing done unless Stiles voiced what was making his mind racing.

“What is it?” Derek asked as they were alone in the study.

“Uh,” Stiles started. “Nothing…”

“Stiles,” Derek said thickening his voice.

Stiles was about to insist that nothing was wrong but the look on Derek’s face told him that they would not be getting anything done unless Stiles spilled what was distracting him.

“It’s my mother,” he said.

“How so?”

“I have a fragile relationship with my mother,” Stiles continued. “We just reconnected and we barely had enough time to have a proper conversation and sort through all of our issues. I love my mother and I know that she loves me, but that love means nothing without the relationship in place. We will both have to work on our relationship which will take time which is okay but what if we can’t get past what happened?”

Stiles was proud of his mother, she came to their aid and helped his friends with their injuries.  She also risked her life making sure that Gerard didn’t escape. She had a strength that wasn’t necessarily physical but a strength that allowed her to endure. She had made sure that she put a stop to the evil the organisation from spreading. He was glad that she did all of that, but they still had a long road of them. They would need to spend time together with one another and work on their relationship.

Stiles sighed, standing up to pour himself a glass of water, wishing it was something stronger.

“Stiles,” Derek started. “I don’t know the exact dynamic of your relationship with your mother, and I won’t pretend to know, but no relationship is ever easy. Peter and I had a difficult relationship at one point but we worked through it. It’s apparent that you and your mother care deeply for each other, which leaves no doubt in my mind that you will sort through your issues with each other…It may take time, but you will manage.”

Stiles had to admit that he had felt relieved finally admitting what he had been mulling over to someone aloud and hearing some sage advice from Derek definitely helped. He felt immensely better hearing what someone else thought on the situation.

Stiles felt that after everything that had happened, he now he had reached a point where he knew he could trust Derek whole heartedly. Derek had been listening to Stiles and not once did he see any judgement or accusation in his face. He understood that things were complicated which was something that Stiles appreciated about him.

Stiles found himself staring at the man, noticing the same contemplative expression on Derek’s face, before he quickly refocused.

“Sorry about offloading that on you,” he said as silence lingered.

“Don’t apologise,” Derek stated, “We all need an ear willing to listen to us sometimes and just be heard. Also I could tell it was really bothering you because you were growing frustrated that you couldn’t pick up the information as quickly.”

“Thank you,” Stiles finally said.

Stiles was about to sit down when the throb in his side reminded him to change the dressing on his bandage. He had been instructed to take it easy but got a bit carried away the other day when going for a run and ended up causing a tear in his stitches when he fell. His mother had fixed it up, but in order to stop the area from getting infected, he had to regularly apply antiseptic cream.

“Would you excuse me,” Stiles said. “I need to go to the room and change my bandage.”

“I could help you with it,” Derek offered. “We have a first aid kit here.”

“You do?”

“One upstairs and downstairs,” Derek explained.

Stiles watched as Derek moved to retrieve the anti-septic cream and a bandage from for the small kit.

“Remove your shirt,” Derek said.

Stiles moved around the desk to nearby Derek and slowly removed his shirt. He could still feel it ache a little as he removed his shirt, because of his stupidity to rush his recovery but he slowly complied with Derek’s instruction.

Stiles felt as Derek pulled at the bandage off from his right side to reveal the bruised area with his stitches clear in the light. Stiles’ heart rate increased as he felt the warmth of Derek’s hands on his abdomen. He noticed that the man had creased his eyebrows and saw legitimate concern in his eyes.

Stiles was surprised when Derek looked directly at him and he could see into the man’s soul and it broke his heart. He looked like he was sad, which made Stiles feel compelled to ease his pain. He wanted to comfort and console the man.

He was about to open his mouth when Derek spoke.

“I am really sorry for all the pain you’ve put through Stiles,” Derek whispered. “I should have protected you better throughout all of this…”

Stiles was caught off guard by the declaration because it had been the last thing he had expected to hear from Derek. He knew that Derek had never meant him any harm, but for some reason the poor guy was taking on the guilt of recent events.

“Derek,” Stiles said looking the man in his eyes, “this isn’t on you. It is okay, I am fine. We have managed to survive all the hell that we’ve been put through and we’re okay. It didn’t go perfectly but, we’re okay... I’m okay.”

Derek nodded, returning to cleaning the wound. Stiles was just absorbed in the moment watching the man; grunting a little when the antiseptic went over his injury.

Stiles had to pull his attention away from Derek because if he let himself go further down that path, it was no going to end well. He had to focus; there were other more important things that he needed to focus on that whatever was developing between him and Derek.

His emotions were already out of hand and the longer that this situation between the two of them continued, the more it began scaring Stiles. He couldn’t allow things between him and Derek to go further than what was appropriate, given their situation.

Once everything was sorted, he would have to leave.

As soon as the thought occurred to Stiles, he knew that it was the right to do. He began clinging to the thought as it was a lifeline to help him through the situation. It hadn’t been the first time in recent days that he had the thought, but he knew that as soon as what was appropriate that he would leave and of course he would take his mother with him. If he didn’t take her with then at least he would made sure that she was safe before he left.

Being with these people and getting sucked into their current situation had been the longest that he had ever stuck around after the ending of his prior engagement. Stiles began caring for them and growing attached which as nice as it felt, was dangerous.  He had had more than enough drama to last him a lifetime and he knew that staying would only make his life complicated in ways he wasn’t sure he could handle.

He had proven to himself that he could handle more than what he thought, but there had to come a time to draw the line. He was proud of himself for being able to endure more than what he could, but this _thing_ with him and Derek was tipping the scale over.

His relationship with each and every single person in and around the house was complicated as is; adding a possible romance situation was just becoming a little too much for Stiles to bear.

As soon as they were in the clear, he would go.

Stiles returned from his mental rabbit hole and noticed that Derek was gently placing the bandage on that would stick to his skin.

“Thanks,” Stiles suddenly announced, quickly pull on his shirt. “We should get back to go over these notes.”

“Glad I could help,” Derek replied.

Derek watched as Stiles returned to his chair and organised himself to study the folder open in front of him. He admired the man; Stiles was tenacious and he had persevered. Derek knew that he was increasingly developing feelings for Stiles because he had even managed to act on it, surprising himself with their kiss.

Derek didn’t know how to address it with Stiles and there never seemed like a right time to bring it up because they were in such a pressure cooker situation. A part of him wanted to linger on their kiss more but he decided against it, and put the thought of anything romantic about him and Stiles out of his mind.

Stiles would need him to be prepared and ready for tomorrow, which is what he intended to be if he was to help the man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter.  
> 1\. The story about the man who couldn’t get HIV as true, unfortunate it has a sad ending as he committed suicide: http://nymag.com/health/bestdoctors/2014/steve-crohn-aids-2014-6/  
> 2\. Stiles and Derek – their own worst enemies…  
> 3\. Some serious drama goes down next chapter! Excited for you to see it…  
> 4\. If you want to get in touch then you can find me on tumblr: www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for all errors

Stiles sighed heavily walking out of the boardroom.

That had been awfully intense - a lot more intense then what he had expected. He got through it better than what he thought he would, but he had Derek to thank for that. It was extremely nerve-wracking but he got through one major thing, now it was just onto the second. Once he got through with that then he would resign and he wouldn’t have to worry about pretending to be a cop ever again.

“Thank you,” Stiles whispered falling into the seat at Jimmy’s desk.

“ _I barely did anything_ ,” Derek replied through the ear piece. “ _You did most of the heavy lifting_.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Art walking up to him. He placed a briefcase onto off Stiles’ desk, which left Stiles particularly confused.

“And this?”

“Your money?” Art explained.

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on Jimmy,” Art said, “Don’t play dumb...”

Stiles had no clue what he was talking about, but thankfully Derek explained.

“ _Art took money from Jimmy as collateral for the hearing. It was money that was going to be used for when we went underground. Jimmy had missed the hearing once before because of a lead from your mother that we had to stake out immediately. Art had lied in his police report and said that he was there witnessing what happened with Jimmy and Matt but he wasn’t. It was a desperate move on his part to take the money, but he did it because he was trying to protect himself and make sure Jimmy came through, otherwise he is an honourable man.”_

Stiles remembered that morning in the when Art was banging on the door that he had said he would get his money back after the hearing. Naturally because the hearing never happened he didn’t get it. Stiles had forgotten about that. It seemed like such a long time ago since he was standing in that house.

 He felt like it was somebody else’s memories, but they were definitely his.

“Of course, I know what you’re talking about,” Stiles said. “I was gonna hunt you down for this.”

“Sorry man,” Art said, offering up his hand to Stiles, “No hard feelings?”

“None,” Stiles replied shaking his hand.

Arthur nodded at Stiles. “I see you made it out relatively unscathed?”

“It was brutal,” Stiles responded. “But good. It went better than what I was expecting so fingers crossed that this gets sorted out quickly.

Art relaxed at hearing that.

“That is good!” he replied. “How’s the time off been treating you? You been very quiet ever since the last hearing? The guys here have been worried about you.”

“Aww, you making me feel so loved Art,” Stiles said placing a hand over his heart. “It brings a tear to my eye.”

“Screw you!” Art laughed.

Stiles laughed at that before he answered Art’s questions, “The time off has been good; it made me reconsider a lot of things Art. Recently though I’ve just been very busy these last few days. How’s the work been though? The lieutenant still being a hard-ass?”

“Crap,” Art replied. “Overworked and underpaid. The lieutenant made sure though that while you are bugging off I get a more competent partner now...”

“Bullshit,” Stiles retorted in his Jimmy tone, “I’m the best you will ever have.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” he said signalling to some woman. “I want to introduce you to my new partner, Angela Deangelis.”

“Hi,” she says. “It’s just Angie.”

“Angie, this is my old partner Jimmy,” Art continued. “He was deeply obsessed with me which why I had to get a new one.”

“That is what I told the Lieutenant to tell him,” Stiles drawled. “I didn’t want him to know it was the garlic breath he had that killed our partnership.”

“He likes garlic?” she asked in horror.

“He is addicted,” he teased. “You poor woman...”

“I am not addicted,” Art defended.

“The first step in the road to recovery is admitting that you have a problem Art,” Stiles teased.

She just laughed.

He excused himself from their company, taking the briefcase with him, to give his heart some time to calm down from beating a mile a minute throughout that chat. Stiles was relieved that his interaction with Art had gone well. He walked through to where they were setting up for the press conference that would take place shortly. He quickly made his way through the people milling around until he got to Derek.

“Thank for that,” he said. “I would have failed and screwed everything up if you didn’t coach me for that.”

“Stiles don’t underestimate yourself,” he said. “I just told you the information, you sold the performance.”

“Jimmy’s tone of voice is interesting,” Stiles said after a moment. “He doesn’t have an accent, but there is a touch of gravel in it almost.”

“Yeah,” Derek laughed. “Sometimes if he wanted to be annoying, he’d speak in this constant Darth Vader type voice because he could do it.”

“It would have driven me crazy,” Stiles said.

Stiles was worried that it would be awkward for them to speak about Jimmy but it wasn’t. Stiles kept trying to see if anything behind Derek’s voice or speech or his body gave way to any lingering feelings but he wasn’t sure. He was easy to read sometimes then other times a complete mask.

He was still puzzled over what was happening between them, and Stiles was very tempted to bring up the topic but as he was about to open his mouth, he stopped himself.

Speaking about what was happening between them would only further complicate things, and since it was his plan to leave when all of this was done, he didn’t want to speak about anything that suggested there was something worth exploring with Derek.

That was a long term topic of conversation, and he was only currently interested in the short term. The short term where they were all free, anything beyond that was not on the agenda.

Instead, Stiles found something else to speak about.

“Here’s the briefcase by the way,” Stiles said handing it over, “I have no clue what to do with this.”

“We can divide it amongst everyone,” Derek said, “That was the plan anyway...”

Stiles nodded. There was so much that had been going on for so long by the time he stumbled into it. Everyone had been working so long to catch a break but, Stiles was glad it was nearly over them.

“Apparently Isaac was able to get Stephen’s information...” Derek continued.

“Huh?”

“The information that Stephen had been working on,” Derek explained, “Isaac came across the write up of it. Lydia and your mother are making adjustments by adding in the new information we received from Stuart’s friend.”

 “What does this mean for us now?”

“We will have the information that we can give to the media themselves so if they don’t believe us they can start their own investigation. Who knows, they may uncover even more than what we even know?”

Stiles mind was reeling from the thought of there being more to uncover.

So much of their situation was based on what they had uncovered and because they didn’t want to live by the rules that others have set for them. It was a crazy thin line between truth and fiction. The fact that an organisation was harvesting organs from clones that had the ability to regrow the taken organs was crazy. When the organisation got too desperate they ended up killing innocents because they would use too many organs for someone to survive the healing process. It was despicable and inhumane.

Stiles couldn’t believe it when Stuart and his mother were discussing the possibility, only for Scott to confirm that it was true. To think all of this was going on while the rest of the world just carried on about their lives.

“Are they on their way yet?” Stiles asked accepting the news Derek told him.

“Yes,” Derek replied, “but they hit a speed bump along the way.”

Stiles couldn’t help but feel worried at the mention of that, “What do you mean? Are they alright?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you alarm,” Derek spotted Stiles’ face. “It was more a thing of everyone wanted to come along and being unable to wait.”

“Isn’t that extremely dangerous though?”

“It is but so has it been for us to live in the safe house,” Derek argued. “To be fair, it was to be expected that everyone wanted to be here because sitting in a location waiting for news on what was happening. I would have been going out of my mind.”

“Well then,” Stiles nodded, “let’s just hope that things go off without any major hiccups.”

Just as it was time for Stiles to have his moment underneath the microscope of the media, he started sweating in buckets. His legs felt like lead, his palms sweaty and his mouth was going dry from the sensation. He was very nervous, not only was the others still M.I.A with Gerard but he hated speaking up in front of crowds. This would not go well.

“ _Stiles_ ,” Derek soothed in his ear, “ _Breathe please. I can’t tell if you are breathing normally or not and I need you to be focused. Take deep breaths and focus on my voice; you need to relax.”_

Thankfully Peter and everyone arrived just in time, Stiles sighed in relief as he spotted them. Derek was also relieved once he saw them. Stiles noticed them firmly placed against the wall as they entered into the room, the press already having filled up most of the room.

”What took so long?” Derek asked when they settled around him.

“Someone needed a pee break and tried to makes run for it in the process,” Peter explained, “but we were able to stop him. We had to put him out again but Claudia, Isaac and Scott are monitoring him in the car. It’s not ideal but it works.” 

Stiles wasn’t thrilled by the news that Peter was telling him but at least they had Gerard in their custody. Stiles realised that everyone in the room was waiting for the press conference to get started, and growing increasingly anxious. He almost had a panic attack about going up to the podium without a script when Lydia came up to him and handed over her iPad to him.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Stiles freaked in a whisper.

“You speech is on there,” she said rolling her eyes. “All you have to do is read it Stiles.”

“Oh,” he smiled, “Thanks.”

“Go get them Stiles,” she said sincerely.

Stiles hadn’t had that much time with Lydia, but he was sure that given enough time the two of them would come be friends with each other.

He mentally chastised himself for the thought. Now was not the time to think about such things because as soon as the dust settled, he would have to leave. They were all great people and Stiles liked them, but he was getting too comfortable and his feelings for Derek were becoming stronger the longer he stayed. He didn’t want to risk what happened the last time; he had been so tempted to stay but he couldn’t. It only brought on problems that Stiles wasn’t sure he could handle.

He took a deep breath as he slowly went up to the microphone before him.  He wasn’t sure how he started it but soon he was delivering the speech that was written for him. Thankfully Lydia and his mom had covered everything. He had been 7 minutes into his speech when he almost lost the room once he mentioned that they were clones. They settled down and he continued, finally nearing the end:

“...Inner Vitality Enterprises, and by extension the Dyad Institute, has caused a damage that has been difficult to repair. So many innocent people have been harmed by their foul actions. It is unethical and illegal the vicious acts they have carried out against these people. I would like to welcome some of these people to the stage.”

Stiles had been so intent on the reading that he didn’t realise what he had just read until he got to the end of the paragraph. He was unintentionally holding his breath, hoping that Stuart and Storm would come up to the stage.

Everyone had been expectantly looking at him, waiting for something to happen.

Stiles had searched the back but he didn’t see the others. He was scared of what would happen but apparently Lydia had already sent them forwards because they suddenly appeared to his right.

Storm led the way, taking forceful steps toward Stiles. The media slowly took notice of the men beside Stiles, their caps obstructing view of their faces as a way to not draw attention to them. Stiles realised that this was it, their final stand. After everything they’d been through, they had finally achieved their goal. They had managed to reveal the truth and hopefully it was that truth that would set them free.

When Stuart and Storm removed their caps, Stiles wasn’t expecting the laughter suddenly erupted from the journalists that sat before him. He was confused by the unexpected laughter and not sure what to make of it. Eventually someone let him in on the joke.

“You expect us to believe that you and your brothers are all a part of some clone conspiracy where you have had your organs harvested for the black market by some evil organisation?” a reporter laughed.

“We aren’t brothers,” Storm protested.

“And I am Elvis Presley,” another reporter mocked.

“You think that we would make up such a thing?” Storm retorted.

“Sure seems like it.”

“Hypothetically, if we are to believe you story,” another reporter said, “Surely, you couldn’t have been the only ones?”

“We do know for a fact that there are other clones around the world, I’ve seen the information for myself,” Stiles said, “however regarding the information of the identities of the other clones is something we wouldn’t dare reveal. We do not want to cause other people the tumultuous difficulty that we have endured. We sincerely hope that our revolt, if you can call it that, will be enough to cripple the evil people doing this. We hope that what we have done today will force them to stop the heinous crimes that they are doing.”

“Do you even have proof of these ‘heinous crimes’ or are we just suppose to take your word for it?” a lady asked.

“I am glad that you all would believe,” Stiles sighed exasperated, “that I would waste all of our time and make up a story just for attention. Going through with the decision to reveal this information has been dangerous. Not only am I risking my life, but numerous others in the process, all in hope of gaining our freedom from a group of people that have been acting above the law and taking the lives of normal civilians into their own hands.”

“Are you even human?” someone accused.

“Just because I am a result of someone’s genetic experimentation, something I had no choice in, you think that you have the right to question my existence? My aim has been to get those responsible for killing innocent people, who co-incidentally some of who look identical to me, and for us to gain our freedom from those evil people. I have lived my life the same as you, I have a mother, I had a father and I have not only loved but also lost those close to me. My life has not been an easy one but the fact that I happen to be a clone does not reduce my experiences to one of an emotionless thing void of an identity. My fellow clones and I have a desire to live out our lives as normally as what we could. We had to go on the run and be hunted down, hiding the identity and existence of those close to us because we were being used as a pawn in someone’s game. We all just wanted to have our freedom.”

“Is there a way to corroborate what you are saying?” another reporter questioned. “How can we print any of this without proof?”

Stuart took the iPad that Stiles been reading off from the podium and worked a bit of his magic.

“I just hacked the WiFi network and emailed everyone a copy of this speech,” Stuart boomed. “Everything that we have, you now have too - the write-up of the events we have discussed which was completed by one of our friends, a journalist and fellow clone, had died in the process of making sure that the truth about the corrupt organisation comes out. Additionally in the attachment is also the accompanying documentation so you can investigate for yourselves whether our claims of our experiences are of fact or lies.”

Things were very tense in the room.

 Stiles was becoming increasingly frustrated with the journalists in the room. They were electing to making up their own stories, instead of hearing what he was saying; he wondered if because of that this was not going to turn out so well for them. Thankfully someone in his ear decided to speak up.

“ _Stiles_ ,” Derek said, “ _I think that it’s time to explain Gerard’s part. It will make everything a hell of a lot easier. You guys are being attacked and you have to make them understand. I sent for him after you called up Stuart and Storm. We needed to have a contingency plan in case something like this happened.”_

Stiles locked eyes with Derek across the room. He nodded, trying to express his gratitude and Derek’s foresight. He had been extremely grateful that Derek stepped in when he did.

“We also have in our custody a man responsible for killing three of the clones from our genetic stream. He was the man who was hired by the organisation to track us down and take us back so they could continue with their nefarious operation but this man had a plan of his own and nearly killed us all.”

“Where is he then?” a faceless reporter asked.

They quickly brought in Gerard who looked dazed and confused as to where he was. Thankfully someone had removed his gag when he had entered, otherwise that would have been a difficult visual to explain away in front of this vicious crowd of reporters.

The room near erupted into chaos as flashing lights when off taking pictures of Gerard, and also the clones on stage. Things had been simmering and were now reaching a boiling point.

Stiles wasn’t sure that they were going to make it out unscathed from this, or even make it out at all.

It was then that the lieutenant decided that it had been the perfect time to step in. Apparently he had a new case on his hands that he needed to investigate. The reporters were extremely upset with this development, but the lieutenant had promised that once his precinct had conducted their own investigation into all of this, the media would have the answers.

That was the moment that everything changed for them.

 Stiles had dropped a major bomb and had made enough stink to get proper attention to their situation. He wasn’t sure what the outcome would be but he was glad that would be dealt with. There were too many people now who knew the truth to make a cover up possible to pull off.

He just hoped that it would all be worked out soon enough for them to go on with their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter...  
> 1\. Things really hit the fan. I know you were expecting a big battle blow out but I think that a quieter way to resolve this would be more preferable for the clones.  
> 2\. There will be huge implications from this... I won’t deal to heavily into it, because the main focus has been Stiles and Derek’s story in this and I don’t want it to get lost in the rest of the plot, which has been harder than I thought. It has been a juggling act and I haven’t always managed that properly but that is part of being a writer, you learn about what works and what doesn’t and you learn from mistakes.  
> 3\. I hope you have been enjoying...  
> 4\. You can find me on www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com and also on www.thelionmutters.blogspot.com   
> 5\. If you want a more romantic Sterek story, I suggest you click my username and go read my other completed fic: The Vanishing Love. I also have other stories if you’re interested.  
> Please please please comment and give kudos if you are enjoying it. I want to hear your thoughts.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for all errors.

The first month after Stiles unleashed the news about the clones and the organisation responsible for them had been rough. They had ended up getting nationwide coverage; all of their faces were on newspapers and the tabloids- “ _Is it all a conspiracy_?”, “ _Is this the worlds’ greatest prank_?” and Stiles’ favourite from People Magazine, “ _Which clone are you most like_?”

It was a media circus which further complicated the investigation into everything that Stiles had said.

News channels had their own groups of scientists, professors and pastors weighing in on the story asking questions like what did this mean for humanity and what other scientific breakthrough’s were being kept secret.  Fox News on the other hand was having a debate about whether or not the clones should be killed because of how “unnatural” they were.

Yup... they had unleashed a big can of worms which had had unexpected ramifications.

It hadn’t been easy on them; they had all been separated and placed into Witness Protection Services. The Police Commissioner and even the FBI had made sure that all their resources went into getting to the bottom of the case as quickly as possible, while also instructing the lieutenant to get the clone club broken up into pairs and sent off to various places across the country.

It had been a very secretive process about where everyone went, but the knowledge of who had been paired up was not as secretive.

Peter had put up a fight about needing someone he could trust with him so that in case something went wrong, then they stood a better chance of making it out alive. The lieutenant had gotten so tired of fighting with Peter that he relented and allowed Derek to go with them instead of letting the man go alone.

Storm and Lydia possibly had the hardest time because they had already been so desperate to see their kids and now going through a separation was agony. They were allowed to talk to them daily but it was hard for them. Stiles didn’t know how he would have been able to do it but he admired their spirit. Unfortunately they didn’t have a choice in the matter but they did not let this setback derail them. In the end things would all work out the way it should.

Or at least that was what Stiles hoped.

Stiles had ended up with his mother, which he was glad for. If he had a choice in who he got paired with, he still would had chosen his mother because it gave them time to catch up and get to know one another again. He thought that it would be a lot of awkward silences but apparently they had slipped back into some type of rhythm with each other. Stiles’ mother truly got him; his dad did too but his mother didn’t have to work at it as hard as what his dad did.

They spoke about everything, him living with Scott’s mom, how his father handled the ‘death’ of his mother, the fact that his dad died trying to save him, graduating early, moving around from town to town, never going to college, the girl who he almost married and what his mother’s life had been like ever since she faked her death.

They had caught up on all of the big stuff and had finally been able to get to the smaller stuff. It wasn’t easy on either one of them but they made it work, they had been more than committed to getting it sorted.

It felt good to be a son again; rediscovering the meaning of having a relationship with his mother.

 They helped each other and been honest about being the people who they were. It was futile to pretend that they could go back to when Stiles was just a kid so they didn’t- it saved them a lot of time and instead of arguments they just spoke about their feelings.

For the first time, Stiles’ over-sharing had been a benefit instead of a detriment.

Stiles had been surprised though by the fact that his mother knew he was bisexual. She said that it was fairly easy to discern that even from a young age Stiles didn’t see things in black or white, he saw them in grey and multicoloured and knew that life was complicated. She said that she didn’t know he would turn out bisexual but she had her suspicions that he wasn’t going to be entirely straight.

“You were equally obsessed with the men and the women on Baywatch. You would fawn over David Hasselhof just as much as you did Pamela Anderson,” she explained.

“I will forever judge my younger self’s horrible taste,” he said as he pulled a face.

She just laughed at that.

Stiles felt himself become lighter and carrying less of the world on his shoulder when he was around his mother. He had realised how truly starved he had been for emotional connections. One thing he didn’t expect his mom to catch onto so quickly though was the Derek situation.

“You really like him don’t you,” she said.

It wasn’t a question so he knew that lying would only delay the inevitable.

“It is definitely more than like,” he mumbled. “I kept trying to not let it happen but then when I got a hold of myself it was too late. Thankfully I won’t have to see him again.”

“What do you mean?”

“As soon as we get the go ahead, I am gone.”

Stiles noticed the hurt and the worry that was in his mother’s eyes as he said that. He quickly tried to reassure her that he would not desert her.

“No,” he said, “I am not leaving you. I just need some time away I promise that I will call and let you know where I am. I will visit as soon as I can. I just won’t be able to be around Derek. Having feelings for someone has always been my weakness because I become so encumbered and lost in those emotions. I don’t want to put him in a situation where he has to reject me. We kissed once and it created this small void between us. I don’t want to make things awkward or difficult for him; he just lost his ex and friend Jimmy and he didn’t have time to grieve. I don’t know if what he feels is for me or lingering feelings for Jimmy, if he even feels anything for me.”

“What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“How is that fair to you?” his mother queried.

“It doesn’t matter if it is fair to me,” Stiles replied, “I will be honest with him and let him know, but I’d rather prefer not putting him in that position. It would prevent me from ruining a friendship that we have developed. In time once my feelings for him pass then we can laugh about it without any awkwardness or whatever.”

“The fact that you are still thinking about him so often three months into not being anywhere near him shows just how much you care for him Stiles,” she said.

“Well it hasn’t been easy,”  he sighed, “but the time apart will do us both some good...these past few months apart has already been slowly helping.”

“I am not going to tell you how to live your life,” his mother said, “but I think you are making a mistake. I love you with all my heart and I want to see you happy but I just want you to know that I lovingly disagree with your decision.”

“Thanks mom,” he said giving her a hug.

Yup, things had taken a very interesting turn for Stiles.

Thankfully he didn’t have to pretend to be Jimmy anymore. He almost landed up in jail for that but the deal everyone struck with the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General, allowed Stiles to have had a free pass. They were able to argue that he did it under duress and because he had to do so in order to survive.

Stiles was just glad that he didn’t have to go to prison.

Eventually details about what was being uncovered started trickling back to them via the handlers that Stiles and his mother had been assigned to; a very lovely couple by the name of Danny and Jackson. Danny was the local sheriff in his small town and Jackson coached the high school lacrosse. They were a very sweet couple; Jackson was a bit on the aggressive side but Danny more than made up for that with his friendly hospitality. How the two of them came to be a couple, heavens knows but Stiles was happy for them.

Danny had told them that they were reaching dead end after dead end because the company that had funded everything had been a shell corporation and after every stone they turned it lead to another dead end. It was frustrating but otherwise the news that they got was more than slightly okay.

After Gerard’s trial and once the verdict was delivered they would be free to go. Everyone was eager for this media nightmare to be over and soon enough it all would be.

 

* * *

 

“I am so bored,” Stuart complained.

“Well, watch another movie then?” Peter laughed.

“I can’t,” he complained, “I am getting glossy eyes from watching so much TV. How did you survive without having any technological gadgets back in the day?”

“I am not that old,” Peter deadpanned.

“I’m kidding my strong badass lover,” Stuart smirked leaning over to kiss Peter.

 Just then, Derek and one of the guards that they had been placed with, Boyd, returned from the shops with food.

“Is there ever a time when you two are not attached to the lips?” Boyd teased.

“When we are about to go down on-” Peter started explaining before Boyd sharply cut him off.

“It was a rhetorical question.”

Stuart had been violently blushing while Peter just rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be jealous just because we’re getting some and you aren’t,” Peter responded.

“You realise that it is your own fault really,” Stuart added. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Erica has the hots for you.”

“You all must be going crazy from being cooped up for so long,” Boyd laughed. “There is no way Erica has an interest in-“

“There is no way that I have an interest in what?” Eric asked coming down from her room.

“Uh,” Boyd stammered, “Apple pie...”

“Yeah,” she replied, “I am not an apple pie fan.”

“Which makes no sense? Apple pie is amazing,” Boyd continued. “Clearly you must have dropped one too many times on the head growing up...”

“Just because I don’t happen to like it Boyd,” she coolly explained, “doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with me. You just happen to be a vacuum; to you all food is good food.”

“Speaking of food,” Derek interrupted, “are we going to eat the pizza we bought or just talk about it?”

“Let’s dig in, because I’m starving,” Stuart complained.

“I swear,” Peter commented, “sometimes you have just as great an appetite as Stiles.” 

Derek unintentionally tensed at the mention of Stiles’ name.

He had not heard anything regards his whereabouts since they had been placed in witness protection services. He had tried to get information regarding the man’s well-being but he couldn’t because it would compromise their safety. Things had been going fine for them since they had been placed by Boyd and Erica. They were very cool people. Derek was worried that the guards who they would end up with would be boring but otherwise they were really easy going. Both Boyd and Erica worked for the FBI and apparently their last case didn’t go too well, so they were assigned the babysitting assignment. They were peeved in the start but month or so later things seem to have improved- they saw it as a paid vacation.

“What’s a Stiles?” Erica asked.

“Who not what,” Peter explained. “He is a fellow clone.”

“Stiles is one of kind,” Derek said distractedly before he could catch himself.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Erica arched an eyebrow.

“It means that Derek has been in love with the guy for the last 3 months but he is too daft to realise it,” Peter stated making Derek choke on his drink.

Derek hadn’t expected Peter to say that.

Derek had been pretty guarded about his feelings for Stiles. He hadn’t been sure what to make of the attraction in the start, but he had been developing feelings for Stiles.  Having had nothing to do but think these last three months made him realise that his feelings for Stiles had crept up on him.

In the start, Derek had also worried if he had been attracted to Stiles because he reminded him of Jimmy. The time he kissed the man, he was not entirely sure of his purpose behind the kiss but his heart knew something then that his mind caught onto later.

Stiles was such an enigma.

 He had stumbled into this haphazard situation and just kept running with it. His honesty and his awkwardness, Derek was surprised to have found himself attracted to Stiles’ awkwardness. He couldn’t help but feel like the guy was so different. He had a light within him that Derek was drawn to. With all the darkness and difficulty that he had experienced, Stiles had come along to brighten his life. He also made Derek smile, which had been something that he hadn’t done in a real long time.

It didn’t hurt that the one time they were intimate, it had been such an electric experience. His moments with Jimmy had never so intense. He should have known something was up but he had been starved for intimacy that he couldn’t resist.

For the past three months he hasn’t been able to think of anything else except about how the man was doing. It sometimes frustrated him because he had no idea what was happening with the man.

Stiles had crept up on him alright, but right now, there was nothing that he could do about it.

“So no denial?” Stuart pressed. “Thank the heavens you have enough sense not to deny it.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Derek said eventually. “Stiles doesn’t have feelings for me and when this is done he will probably move on again. He’s a drifter.”

“Unless you give him a reason to stay,” Erica uttered.

She seemed to be surprised that she said that; thinking that she had revealed herself she quickly changed the topic, which Derek was grateful for.

“I still can’t believe this clone thing,” Erica said, “the media has been going mad about it ever since you guys dropped that bomb.”

“We can imagine,” Stuart commented taking the bait, “On the entertainment news sites they have been trying to figure out where we are now and what is going on? It’s been quite comedic actually.”

“Things turned out very unexpectedly,” Peter sighed.

“Yeah,” Boyd said, “However soon it will all be over...”

“What do mean?” Derek questioned.

“I thought you guys knew,” he said. “The trial has been set to start in a month.”

“You mean to say that we will actually be free?” Stuart hopefully asked.

“Yes,” Boyd replied.

Derek couldn’t believe it, soon this would be over and they would be able to return to some sense of normality. They didn’t have the freedom that they had wanted but shortly they would. They just had to be patient a little longer. In the end everything would work out, or at least he hoped it would.

 

* * *

 

Stiles had been surprised. He shouldn’t have been but he was.

He sat with mouth agape from the back of the courtroom. The guilty verdict had just been delivered. They were free. Every single one of the clone club was now free. Stiles couldn’t help but smile as he hugged his mother tightly.

He quickly left pulling his mother alongside him out of the courtroom. The media were ready to pounce but he had managed to escape undetected. He pulled his mother into the elevator that went out of the building.

“Please do me a favour and give this letter to Derek. It’s for everyone but I want him to read it. I can’t handle goodbyes, and this one would be too much for me. I am just saying goodbye to you alone and it already has me choked up,” Stiles said blinking away the tears. 

“Are you sure that you have to do this?” his mother asked taking the letter in her hand. “We are having a barbeque at Derek’s house? You can still come?”

“Positive,” he replied. “Danny is waiting for me, from here I’ll be on the train going to back with him. We will stop along the way and get something to eat, because I’m starving, but as a train comes then we’re all set and on our way.”

“I love you my son,” Claudia croaked giving her soon an intense hug as the elevator doors opened. “Keep safe.”

“Will do mom,” Stiles said, “I love you too. I will phone you every day.”

Claudia reluctantly let her son go. It was hard for her to do that, but she knew that this time she wasn’t giving him up. She was letting him be and making his own decisions, he would come back to her, and she had no doubt that he would but it didn’t make the goodbye any easier.

She quickly pressed the button for the floor she had just been on so she could return to the courtroom. When she met up with Scott and Isaac, they along with everyone else, were in a very happy spirit and who could blame them. We were all free.

While free meant unemployment, it was a freedom that felt greater than anything they had any experienced in recent months.

 Claudia was glad that the police had found a breakthrough in the case and caught the true people responsible for such heinous crimes.  It had been a total of 6 months but the police found information that could bring every one of the secret board members and scientists from the Dyad Institute to court. It had taken them a while to sort out who had been truly unaware of what had been happening and those who were orchestrating everything.

In the end they had garnered enough attention to make sure the organisation was brought to justice. One of the people responsible had in fact been clone herself – a lady named Rachel who had been very unapologetic about what she had done.

But all of it was now done...

The uncertainty of the future ahead, without the fear of danger, was a great feeling.

“Where is Stiles?” Scott asked coming up to Stiles’ mother.

“He had to leave,” Claudia replied.

“So soon?”

“Unfortunately so,” Claudia smiled weakly.

“Is he joining the Derek’s party later?” Isaac questioned. “Derek is looking forward to seeing Stiles....”

“Stiles is on his way out of town,” Claudia said grimly. “I’m not sure when he is coming back.”

“Oh wow,” Isaac said stunned, “that is unfortunate.”

“Indeed it is,” Claudia whispered.

They left the courtroom, getting held up by the media for a bit before they left for Derek’s house. Apparently he had gotten some security because Scott was asked for his identification from someone before he was allowed onto the property. There was music playing softly in the background and the sound of kids playing around.

They walked into the house and realised how lovely it really was.

They saw that Peter and Stuart were placed on the couch wrapped in one another. Storm and Lydia were bundled up with the kids in the backyard where Isaac and Scott excused themselves to join. Lydia’s parents had come along with the kids, and they were lingering around outside too.

Claudia found herself drifting around looking at the photos in the house when she noticed that there was a broody presence in her midst. Derek was standing extremely close by offering a glass of wine to her.

She took the glass, thanking him as she did so.

“You look so young in these pictures.”

“I look back at those and I see how young I was,” he said. “Not exactly naive but not smart either.”

“You were young,” she smiled. “It was to be expected.”

“True,” he conceded. “Just wish I handled myself better.”

“You have been dealt a rough hand,” she said. “We all have, but we’ve endured and we have survived. At least those truly responsible are being held accountable.”

“Yeah,” he stated, “More than anything, I am just glad that we get to lead a relatively normal life from here on out.”

“I think that is what everyone here is most excited about,” she said. “Normality and routine.”

They were quiet for a moment after that.

The question that Derek had on his mind ready to ask but he wasn’t sure if he could actually ask it.  He knew that he had to know the answer to the question though, otherwise not knowing would drive him crazy.

“Is Stiles alright?” he asked. “I noticed you and he left quickly after the verdict was delivered. I thought he would be with you.”

“He is fine, he just couldn’t make it,” Claudia answered apologetically. “He had to leave town.”

Derek nodded, looking despondent at the mention of that. He knew the answer was coming but it didn’t diminish any of the hurt that he was feeling. He didn’t let Claudia see what he was feeling though.

 “He did leave you something that he wanted me to give to you,” Claudia continued removing the letter from her bag. “He asked for you to read it to everyone.”

“He wants me to do what?”

“He wrote this letter for everyone,” she answered, “but he wants you to read it.”

Derek was thrown by this request, but it was Stiles’ wish so he would try his best to grant it.

 They quickly gathered everyone into the room and had them all sitting in the lounge as Derek quickly opened the letter and started reading it loud enough for everyone to hear. 

 _“I wasn’t sure how to start this, so I will simply start with the first thing that comes to mind_ ,” Derek read. _“Thank You. Thanks for everything that I have experienced_. _I am glad that I met you all of. I am sorry for the way that I am leaving you all but I realised that saying goodbye in person would have been a lot harder. You truly have no idea how much you have impacted my life. I will forever and always cherish the wild time that I shared with you. We have finally gained our freedom which is something that we all wanted, more so it is something we deserve. Hopefully we can now continue to live our lives the way we want to and on our own terms._ _To Derek_...”

“What?!” Stuart asked intently, after Derek went quiet. “To Derek what?!”

Derek just stood there.

Stuart got up and pulled the piece of paper from his hand.

 _“To Derek_ ,” he re-started, _“Thank you for always being my champion when everything was against me. You could have not showed up that night that I escaped from the organisation, you could have chosen not to teach me about how to use a gun, and you could have left me to be alone on the night that I had my nightmare but instead you offered up your bed for me sleep in so that I wouldn’t be alone; but I am so grateful that you did.”_

_“Every moment we spent together was a moment I truly felt safe and at ease. You calmed my fears and you helped me at times that you don’t even know about. For all of this, words can truly not express how thankful I am to you...”_

_“These past 6 months have made me realise how much you’ve meant to me throughout all of this and I just wanted to let you know this before I leave...I hope you all won’t miss me too much. Just know that I will see you all one day but until then...Goodbye. Love, Stiles.”_

They were all silent, everyone was visibly choked up. Stuart even had tears falling from his eyes, while even Peter had to clear his throat a few times before managing to get a word out.

“Does it say where he went?”

Stuart just shook his head, their attention turning to Derek who had taken to zoning out while Stuart was reading the letter.

“You realise he loves you,” Lydia stated, matter-of-factly.

“He doesn’t,” Derek mumbled.

“Derek, you do not write a letter like that to someone because you simply want to say thank you,” Storm said. “I remember when Lydia, this gorgeous stranger, had stitched up my hand after I cut it. I just wanted to say thank you but instead I ended up rambling about nonsense saying how her perfume reminded me of lilies and how I use to spend hours in the garden with the lilies because it was the only place where I had true peace and quiet growing up it...basically, my heart knew I was in love with her before my head caught on.”

“That is how Stiles feels,” Stuart said.

“You’re reading too much into it,” Derek reasoned.

“Derek,” Peter boomed commanding attention, “we’ve always felt the need to distance ourselves from others. It is what we do not just to protect those we care for, but also ourselves. Things are hardly ever easy for us and sometimes we deny ourselves our own happiness because it feels right. I understand that things didn’t work out the first time when you tried all of this with Jimmy, but Stiles is not him and this is a different situation. The guy has seen you for who you are and all the good qualities you possess.”

“He might be running away from what he wants because he is scared,” he continued, “or because he doesn’t want to put you in the situation where he feels that you would have to reject him. I understand his rationale as I had felt something similar with Stuart. It had resigned myself to giving him up, because I accepted that he wouldn’t want me. We’ve all taken those risks because we fell in love with the people we were supposed to be guarding.  It worked out well for someone of us, while not so easy for others, but that is life. All I know is that he loves you; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you feel the same. He has had made you smile, which something that you haven’t done in a very long time.  I think if you don’t make an effort to find him before it’s too late, then that would have been your biggest regret in life yet.”

Claudia had been keeping quiet, amazed at everyone’s response. Watching intently the scene before her; she thought she had been the only one to have been aware of what was happening between the two of them. She was glad that everyone noticed it; everyone knew how they felt about one another except them.

“Both you and my son are total idiots,” she smiled walking over to Derek. “Stiles _is_ in love with you Derek.  I have been trying to convince him for the past 6 months to tell you in person but the letter was all he could muster. Peter is absolutely right about what Stiles is feeling because he told me so himself. He said that he didn’t want to make it awkward for you...I can tell you have are in love with him too because it is clear as day on your face. You usually carry your emotions behind a mask, but this is something that not even you can’t hide away.”

“What do I do?” he asked his voice soft and eyebrows furrowed.

“You find him before he leaves,” she stated before looking at her watch. “He could be boarding his train any time now so you better hurry.”

“What if I don’t make it time?”

“Then we make sure we track him down.”

 

* * *

 

Stiles sat patiently staring out the window. He was anxious, but didn’t know why.

 Sitting alone in the train, he couldn’t help but think back to the first day that he first arrived. He had absolutely no clue about what was waiting for him as soon as he stepped off the train; it was mind boggling. He was glad that things turned out the way they did though...well he was glad for the most part.

His eyes were drifting throughout his compartment coming across the different types of people who were just going about their lives, oblivious to so much of what was happening around them. He used to be just another face in the crowd like so many of the people around him, but recent events made him pay closer attention to the people around him.

He spotted a lady sitting with her son on the train, which made him think of his mother and their re-established relationship. He was unaware of the fact that he was smiling as he watched her removed a mark from her son’s face. The boys was sitting very quietly eating a packet of crisps and kicking his feet out in front of him.

He noticed a couple then, staring lovingly at one another and couldn’t help but felt a pang in his stomach. They looked so in love; like they were living in their own world. Stiles was jealous. He was in love with someone who didn’t feel the same and the only way he knew how to handle that was by moving on to a new place.

He quickly diverted his gaze outside, sitting patiently looking but not really focusing on anything specifically. He looked around outside and tensed when he thought that he saw someone who he thought he knew. His heart had started beating faster at the thought, but when he looked back there was no one there.

Stiles started breathing normally sitting back down when he felt someone sit down next to him.

“What took you so long Danny?” he started. “Was it so hard to find the confectionary lady?”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Derek’s voice stated, “but I am not Danny.”

Stiles felt a chill run down his spine. He froze as he stared into the face of the man who he was in love with.

“What are you doin-”

Stiles couldn’t finish his sentence because Derek’s lips had covered his.

 Initially Stiles was in shock, his lips responding before he caught up to what they were doing. He relaxed, letting himself feel the kiss and started responding with as much fervour as he could muster. He couldn’t believe it. Derek was kissing him and he was kissing Derek. His mind couldn’t focus on anything else other than the kiss. He was gasping when he reluctantly let the kiss end.

“I love you,” Derek said. “I read your letter and I couldn’t let you go without the chance of you feeling the same.”

“Good thing that I love you too then,” Stiles said kissing Derek before he even finished speaking.

This was a dream. He was in love with Derek and Derek loved him in return. He thought that he would have to give up Derek but apparently that was not going to happen. He didn’t care about what came next, he just knew that in this moment he was happy and content.

“The past 6 months has given me time,” Derek said, “and you were always on my mind. I thought about you every day and not knowing how you were doing was harder than I thought it would be. I love you Stiles.”

Stiles lost all ability to formulate words and string them together, so he just kissed the man.

They kissed for a while after that, oblivious to the world around them. Apparently the train started moving but Stiles didn’t care. He was with the man that he was in love with and that was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that...  
> 1\. They found each other...and it makes me happy  
> 2\. I contemplated giving you chapters about their time in witness protection but then I would’ve been slowly down the pace and it would not have been as interesting.  
> 3\. You can find me on www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com and also on www.thelionmutters.blogspot.com   
> 4\. If you want a more romantic Sterek story, I suggest you click my username and go read my other completed fic: The Vanishing Love. I also have other stories if you’re interested.
> 
> Please please please comment and give kudos if you are enjoying it. I want to hear your thoughts.


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Last Chapter  
> It only took me a year and some to finish this story –sorry to all those who were here from day one – but here we are.  
> Apologies for the errors...

Stiles was sleeping quite wonderfully next to Derek, whose hand was wrapped around his waist when he suddenly felt a plethora of small people all around them on the bed.

“Wake up Uncle Stiles!” the voices shouted. “Wake up Uncle Derek!”

Stiles and Derek immediately sat up attacking the kids, pulling them onto the bed in between the middle of them.

“Who dares to wake us from our slumber?” Stiles grumbled in a giant’s voice.

“I see the people have brought children for us to feast on,” Derek said tickling the kids.

“I am going to enjoy this feast!” Stiles said tickling them again.

The kids were laughing very merrily and having such fun with their uncles.

“You need to get up Uncle Stiles!” Simone said. “It is Uncle Peter’s and Uncle Stuart’s wedding day, you can’t be late!”

“Thank you for telling me Simone!” he said kissing her forehead. “It would have been a shame if I forgot. Clearly all of you are excited for the wedding!”

“Yes we are,” Storm Jnr. and Stellan said in unison.

“We are the flowerers...” Simone said.

Stiles and Derek leaned in give them a crushing hug. “You better not upstage me or Uncle Derek today with your adorableness otherwise we will eat you up.”

He started tickling them again. They were so excited for today and who could blame them, it was a very happy occasion today.

“Simone, Stellan and Storm!” Lydia shouted from the passage. “Where are you?”

“They’re here Lydia!” Derek said.

“Kids!” she sighed coming into the room. “What did I say about waking up your uncles?”

“Sorry mom!” they said.

“Don’t blame them,” Storm senior said coming up behind Lydia giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I put them up to it!”

“The true culprit has revealed his identity!” Lydia said smirking.

“There is only one way to settle this,” Stiles said seriously looking at the kids. “Attack your dad!”

The kids rushed off to tackle their dad bringing him down to the floor at the front of Stiles and Derek’s bed. Everyone just looked on laughing loudly at the scene.

“Come on my terrors!” Lydia said with a smile. “Let us leave your uncles to a few minutes more of beauty sleep before they get up to face the day! They have to make sure the grooms arrive on time.”

“Thank you,” Derek smiled.

“Happy Birthday Stiles,” she whispered coming over to place a kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you Lydia,” he replied. “How did you know? I didn’t want to distract attention away from the wedding.”

“A little birdie whispered in my ear,” she smiled. “And I am sure that Peter and Stuart are glad to share this day with you.”

“I just don’t want to tell them yet,” he answered. “Rather wait till during the reception or something...”

“Happy Birthday Stiles!” Storm boomed loud enough for the whole house to hear as he lifted his head high enough from ground to peer at them.

“Thank you Storm!” Stiles smiled a she rolled his eyes. “Well there goes that idea.”

Everyone just laughed, the kids dashing to give Stiles a hug as they wished him a happy birthday. He was so glad for how everything had turned out. Today was truly going to be a special day. 

“We’ll need to chat in a bit,” Derek said to Storm.

“Chat in a bit about what?” Lydia questioned.

“That’s what I’d like to know too,” Stiles said eyeing Derek.

“For us to know and for you to find out,” Storm winked.

“Fine,” Lydia said. “Let us leave your uncles to rest.”

Once they’d left the room, Derek’s lips were immediately on Stiles.

Derek was kissing him passionately; it reminded Stiles of their very first kiss in the kitchen, but more so the kiss on the train too, with Derek being the one kissing him first. The rest of it was the same, the loss of breath, the dizziness, and the inability to get enough of Derek when he kissed Stiles like this- all of that had remained the same.

Stiles was breathing heavily by the time they stopped kissing, so was Derek.

“Happy Birthday Stiles,” he whispered breathily.

“Wow...” he said leaning his head against Derek’s.

Derek laughed, which only made Stiles smile more. He looked liked a different person when he smiled- so care free. Ever since they managed to expose the organisation, he had seen a lot more of Derek smiling, and it wasn’t something that he got tired of.

“Thank You,” Stiles said, “that was quite the gift.”

“You think that was your gift?” Derek laughed.

“I didn’t want to be presumptuous in assuming that I would be getting any gifts...”

“That was the first on many gifts,” Derek said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“It was?” Stiles said cocking an eyebrow.

“Here,” Derek said as he pushed Stiles back onto the bed kissing a trail from his shoulder, over his nipple and down to his abdomen, “Let me give you your other gift.”

Stiles eyes went larger as Derek kept on his kissing path down south.

* * *

  

“I thought that having clones would be enough of a pleasure for a vain person, but seriously why are you still gawking at yourself in the mirror,” Derek teased.

“Ha ha,” Stiles deadpanned, “I would be more worried about the fact that a certain someone and his uncle have a thing for people who look identical to one another.”

It took a moment for what Stiles said to sink into both of their heads. That was enough to wipe the smile of Derek’s place. They both then stated pulling disgusted faces at the thought.

“That is disturbing,” Derek complained, “Why did you say that?”

“I don’t know,” Stiles cringed.

“How the heck am I suppose to get through the wedding now?”

“I don’t know,” he laughed, “if you figure that out then let me know.”

Stiles quickly left his room and went to peek in on Stuart, while Derek left to look in on Peter.

The grooms had slept in separate rooms last night; Stuart and Peter thought that it was a silly rule but as wedding planner Lydia got her way so they went along with it, apparently some straight traditions still crept into gay weddings as well. 

“Knock knock,” Stiles said coming into the room.

Stuart groaned, “What is it?”

“Best man reporting for duty sir!” Stiles said.

“Could you report for duty in 30 minutes instead?”

“Not unless you want me to tell your future husband that you are being difficult?”

“I hate you,” Stuart mumbled.

 “I’ll remind of that when you are standing at the altar looking at the love of your life,” Stiles replied.

Stiles and Stuart had really grown close to one another over the past year. Besides their constant disagreement on which comic book characters were the best, they got along like a house on fire.  It had been an unexpected friendship that both of the young men have come to treasure. They were able to relate to one another in unexpected ways and it was nice to have someone who could be a trusted friend.

Stiles had Stuart cleaned up and ready to leave for the wedding in an hour. Apparently Stuart didn’t realise that you had to iron dress pants, and that you couldn’t just put them on like jeans. Stuart was standing in front of the mirror having finished buttoned his shirt when he put the bowtie on.

Stiles noticed that Stuart had no clue that he was doing, and he quickly went over to help the poor man.

“I had never worn one of these in my life,” Stuart said pushing his glasses up.

 “My father taught me how to tie one,” Stiles replied. “It had been for one of my school dances, if I remember correctly.”

“My father hadn’t been around when I grew up,” Stuart replied. “It was just me and my mother. Her death hit me hard, if it wasn’t for Peter I might not have made it out of my depression.”

“Losing a parent is hard,” Stiles said tying the bowtie. “It changes you in ways you don’t expect.”

“Tell me about it.”

They heard a gentle knock on the door.

“Come in,” they replied simultaneously.

“Everyone alright here?” Storm questioned. “I’ve been sent to make sure you girls are still alive.”

“We have a comedian in the house everybody,” Stuart said.

“What can I say?” Storm smirked, “When you got it, you got it.”

“Have you come to help or waste time?”

“Help,” Storm laughed. “Your chariot of fire awaits my liege!”

“Is it that time already?” Stuart said looking slightly queasy.

“Come on now Stu! Now is not the time to get sick!”

“Yes Stuart,” Stiles complained, “No cold feet.”

“I am just very very nervous guys,” Stuart said.

“I know the feeling all too well,” Storm laughed. “I thought I was going to puke the entire time I was standing at the altar waiting for Lydia. Then I saw her and everything became so clear to me. I knew that I was doing the right thing and would never regret my decision.”

Stuart relaxed at that; Storm’s recount of his wedding day having eased his nervous ever so slightly. Stiles finally finished tying the bowtie. He initially fumbled around with it but he eventually got the hang of it and managed to tie an impressive bowtie.

They heard another wrap on the door.

“We must be at Grand Central Station today,” Stuart moaned.

“Sorry boys,” Claudia smiled entering the room, “It’s just me.”

“Oh,” Stiles said adjusting Stuart’s bowtie ever so gently, “Hi mom.”

“Hold that pose,” she said snapping a photo. “Perfect. How are we feeling today?”

“We are nervous but for the most part Stuart is ready to make an honest man out of Peter,” Storm smiled.

“Glad to hear that,” she smiled. “I just wanted to check in and make sure that everything is fine and ready. I just popped in by Derek and Peter before they left.”

“Why’d you do that?” Stiles questioned.

“Derek just wanted to know something and I wanted to wish Peter well,” Claudia smiled. “Good thing I checked in though, Derek looked a little worried.”

“Why?” Stiles asked alarmed.

“He didn’t know how to handle a nervous Peter,” she laughed. “Peter kept wringing his hands.”

“Oh thank God I am not the only nervous one,” Stuart sighed with a smile.

Stiles and Storm broke into a laugh.  They had never seen Stuart so tightly wound and the fact that he had been so quiet for most of the morning was starting to get Stiles worried but now he seemed to be his less tense.

“Mind if I take a picture of you three men?”

They quickly arranged themselves into a pose with Stuart in the middle and Stiles and Storm on either side of him. When his mother showed him the picture Stiles was thrown by how identical they looked.

“Well we are clones Stiles,” Stuart said with an eye roll.

“It’s not just that, we look like brothers,” Stiles said.

“I don’t know about Storm here but ever since put your life on the life for us when you could have easily walked away and lived your life in total obliviousness, I had always considered you a brother of mine.”

“Same here,” Storm replied. “You are part of our unit Stiles, we are brothers.”

Stiles hadn’t expected the moment to take an emotional turn but hearing them say that made him feel special. They quickly finished up before taking off for the wedding.

Stuart was fidgeting the entire ride and who could blame him; he was about to get married, it was a big day for him.

They walked into the building where they met Peter, his groomsmen, Lydia and the kids near the back. They were to walk out to alter outside in the bright sunlight. Everyone was sitting outside with fans and hats and relaxing in the heat, waiting for wedding to get started.

“You nearly had me worried there for a second,” Peter laughed gripping onto Stuart’s hand.

“You know that I have to keep you on your toes Mr Hale,” Stuart winked.

“Indeed you do,” Peter smirked.

Stiles, Storm, Isaac and Derek led the way inside making their way to their designated sides of the altar. Stiles and Storm on Stuart’s side, with Derek and Isaac on Peter’s; Lydia was standing with the kids handing over the flower baskets to them so they could throw petals as they walked.

She was reluctant to leave the kids, but on Stuart’s convincing she eventually made her way to the front where she would be waiting for the kids. 

“You ready to do this?” Stuart asked the kids.

“Remember,” Peter added kneeling down to their height, “We want the most badass flower throwers ever!”

“Let’s get this party started,” Storm Jnr. said causing them to laugh.

 “Then lead the way young nobles,” Peter said.

The kids almost ran down the aisle with so much excitement, Simone almost tripping in the process.

 “Are you ready?” Stuart asked turning to Peter.

“I was ready the moment you told me that you loved me,” Peter replied.

“I hope your vows are so smooth Mr,” Stuart teased before breaking into a smile. “Lead the way my love.”

Peter slowly started walking down the aisle, his hand firmly enclosed in Stuarts. They were ready for the next step in their relationship, and he was sure that he would love it just as much as he had every moment leading to it.

 

* * *

 

Stiles had cried. There was no way he could deny the fact that he was crying during the wedding ceremony.

It had been overly emotional. Who knew that Peter was such a softie? His vows were absolutely lovely.

“You okay?” Derek asked coming up to him handing him a glass of champagne.

“Yes,” Stiles smiled, “I am perfect; just thinking back to the ceremony.”

“It was beautiful wasn’t it?” Derek said leaning back against the bench.

“Absolutely,” Stiles replied scooting in closer to Derek’s side on the bench. “Though who knew that Stuart had those moves in him? His dancing at the reception was...”

“Something,” Derek laughed. “You were another surprise dancer.”

“What can I say? I have a natural talent.”

 “You can say that again.”

Stiles gently nudged Derek in the ribs, causing Derek to laugh.

“Are you okay though?” Stiles asked. “I noticed that you had a chat with Boyd that required your attention.”

“It was nothing,” Derek answered. “It was Boyd who wanted to check in and see if everything was alright. I told him to relax and spend time with Erica but he said he had been working on gaining another client for the company.”

“As long as he doesn’t neglect her,” Stiles said. “They make quite the couple.”

“They do,” Derek agreed. “He’s just been committed to landing us new clients though.”

“That is good news,” Stiles beamed. “I am glad that the security company is doing well, you surely made a large headway in the past year.”

“Yeah,” Derek smiled. “We have.”

“All of us have,” Stiles said.

So much had changed for them in the past year. Derek and Peter had started a security firm and Isaac, Storm, Scott, Boyd and Erica had joined them in running of it. They were in the process of hiring Danny to the company as well. It was a pleasant surprise to Stiles when he had heard the news. It was nice that things were picking up. Stiles hadn’t realised how much money there had been in private security but apparently there were millions to be made.

His mother and Lydia had also started their own company and seeing as all they were the doctors involved with the clone club, it gave them a credibility and exposure that only helped their organisation.  They even managed to land a book deal, which currently sat on top of the New York Times bestseller list. Alongside that, they were involved with the development of new drugs and helping out with the underprivileged in getting the treatment that they require.  Stuart was involved with the running of both the technological aspects of the companies so everyone was involved with some type of thing.

Stiles ended up going in the totally opposite direction than any of their professions. He had become an actor and writer. Acting in high-profile shows every once in a while when he wasn’t busy writing his science-fiction trilogy series The Clone Club. He recently did a guest spot on a show called Teen Wolf which was such a success that he was being asked to recur, to play the villain actually.

He also has role in a science fiction movie that he is about to start shooting, so he was enjoying the weird career trajectory that his life has taken but all in all Stiles very happy. Apparently it was inspired by the medical discoveries the clones had been involved in. They were calling the movie Orphan Black.

He initially didn’t want to be an actor when he suddenly got flooded with requests by movie and TV producers who discovered that he had pretended to be Jimmy and Dylan. It took Derek’s encouragement for him to take the chance, and it had actually paid off.

It wasn’t the normal that they had anticipated because Stiles was sure everyone expected suburban lives and going bored out their mind with the routine of their lives, but it was enjoyable. Everyone was happy. 

“You awake?” Derek questioned. “You got all quiet on me.”

“Sorry, got lost in my thoughts.”

“I hope that they were all good thoughts?”

“They were,” he smiled.

“While we are in private,” Derek said, “I wanted to give you your birthday present.”

“You shouldn’t have gotten me anything,” Stiles smiled.

“Well then you won’t be disappointed because it’s nothing expensive.”

Derek handed Stiles a small box. Stiles tried to shake it to figure out what was in it but Derek quickly stopped him from doing that. He even tried guessing what it was but Derek didn’t tell him and just kept telling him to open it. Eventually Stiles relented.

“Oh my,” he gasped. “Where did you find it?”

Stiles was staring at the shell that his mother had given him when he was small. He thought that he had lost it or that it had been destroyed. It had been one of the few keepsakes he had ever had from his younger days and when he thought that he lost it, it broke his heart.  He realised that he had his mother so he didn’t needed it anymore; though it didn’t stop him for being extremely happy as he started at it in the box.

“At the safe house,” Derek answered. “I went along with Scott and Isaac to do maintenance on the place before we sold it and I came across it.”

Stiles placed the box with the shell in it beside him as he kissed Derek for a very long time. When he broke the kiss he could see that Derek was thinking, his eyebrows were furrowed, which was a clear indicator of this contemplative mood. He didn’t have to ask what was on his mind because Derek spoke first.

“Stiles,” Derek said seriously. “I have something to ask you.”

“Sure go ahead,” Stiles answered feeling confused by Derek’s behaviour.

“We have been together for almost a year now and it has been the best time of my life. I have never felt anything like this before in my life, the love that I have for you scared me in the start but now I relish in it. You are my anchor at times when I feel lost, I cannot live my life without you and I wouldn’t want to. When it is so easy for me to wallow in the darkness that I have experienced in my life, you lighten up my world and remind me that I don’t have to let the darkness control me. You keep me from slipping.”

Stiles wasn’t sure if he was breathing or not because he felt rooted to the spot.

“I want to give you the earth and the moon Stiles,” Derek continued. “I would swim a hundred seas and cross a million miles to make your wildest fantasy a reality. It hasn’t been an easy road; we have had our fair share of challenges but one thing I know is that I wouldn’t have been able to make it through those challenges if you weren’t by my side. You are such an idiosyncratic ball of awkwardness and neuroses that I absolutely adore. Will allow me to make you happy? Will you give me the honour of trying to please you ever single day or my life? Making you smile and seeing you happy is what brings a smile to my face.”

Stiles was imagining it but suddenly Derek had been down on one knee, in front of him.

“Will you make me a lucky man and marry me?”

To Stiles’ surprise Derek pulled out the shell from the box he’d just given Stiles. He handed the shell to Stiles, but Stiles wasn’t moving or doing anything. Derek used Stiles’ hand to tilt the shell over where two rings came out of the shell. Derek took one of the rings as he took Stiles’ left hand in his.

“Stiles,” Derek said looking at his face.

Stiles was still quiet.

“Stiles,” Derek repeated. “I don’t mean to hurry you, but an answer would be appreciated.”

“Yes,” Stiles croaked with tears running down his face, somehow managing to find his voice.

Derek sighed audibly, slipping the ring on to Stiles’ finger.

Derek was about to take the other ring from Stiles and put in on his finger himself but instead Stiles’ hand closed around the ring before Derek could take it. Derek looked up into Stiles tear streaked face seeing that he was smiling.

“Derek Hale,” Stiles breathed trying to calm his nerves. “I never knew that I could feel this way about anyone and your love has been enough to make change my drifting ways. Your love has been my shelter, my protector and my strength when I had none left to give. You have been there for me and helped me when I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life. I love you with every fibre of my being. Will you do me the honour of accepting me as your future spouse?”

“With the greatest of pleasure,” Derek replied as Stiles slipped the ring onto his finger.

Derek stood and lifted Stiles with force as they kissed each other.

They forgot about the rest of the world around them as they let the kiss reign on.

Stiles was on cloud nine when their epic kiss was interrupted by Storm. They were being called inside for some random reason. Stiles didn’t want to leave Derek’s side so he made sure to clasp onto his hand as they walked inside. Stiles had no clue what was going on until he saw the birthday cake that was there for him inside.

Suddenly a chorus of Happy Birthday started being sung in his honour. Stiles blushed as the huge cakes was being rolled towards him. He turned to Derek who magically had a mike in his hand. 

“Was this the surprise you and Storm were talking about this morning?”

“Yes,” he whispered in Stiles’ ear before he started speaking on the mike. “While we all are here to celebrate the marriage of my uncle and his lovely love husband Stuart, there is another special occasion that we get to celebrate today; the birthday of Stiles Stilinski. I want to wish you a wonderful 28th birthday and that it may be everything that your heart desires. We love you and wish you all of the best. I love you the most though, but I am sure you mother might disagree with that. I am so glad that I get to call you my fiancé, seeing as you just accepted my wedding proposal and I look forward to spending many more years together with you. Happy Birthday Stiles.”

Stiles quickly kissed Derek causing cheers and hollers to erupt from all of those around him. As soon as the kiss was stopped, he was ambushed with hugs and kisses and more hugs as everyone wished him a happy birthday and congratulations on his engagement.

Stiles was eventually in need of the bathroom, his feet sore from all the dancing and his bladder read to burst when he accidentally opened the wrong door. He was surprised by the sight in front of him; Scott and Isaac were kissing very passionately.

“Seriously guys? You couldn’t wait?” Stiles laughed.

“Sorry,” Isaac blushed ever so slightly.

“Please put a do not disturb sign on the bathroom door next time,” Stiles laughed.

They were all grinning sheepishly; Isaac hiding his half naked frame in Scott’s neck to place a gentle kiss there before standing up straight holding onto Scott.

“We’re sorry,” Scott laughed.

“Well enjoy yourselves guys,” Stiles laughed leaving them behind.

Out of everything to happen the past year, the relationship between Scott and Isaac was slightly surprising. It took everyone off guard when they had announced that they were in a relationship with each other.

Isaac had a hard time coming to grips with Stephen’s death, and Scott with Allison’s. The time they had spent together allowed them to be there for each. In some ways there were both responsible for keeping the light on with each other. They had helped, protect and loved each other.

After that Stiles ended up noticing the more intimate moment that they shared with each other. They had all fallen in love with one another and Stiles had to admit that he was very impressed by how well they made it work for them. It was a very unique circumstance because Scott had even said that he never saw himself as gay, but it didn't matter because he loved Isaac and that was all that counted to him.

Stiles went on to find another bathroom before he returned to where everyone was dancing. He was on the dance floor when he suddenly felt a body pressed up against his and a hand on either side of his waist.

“Mr Derek Hale!” Stiles gasped. “Are my eye’s imagining it or are you actually dancing?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” he laughed.

“Then this is definitely a desperate time,” Stiles said.

“Seeing as you just made me the happiest man alive, I am sorely desperate to have every single part of my body over every inch of yours.”

Stiles couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow.

“In that case then please lead the way Fiancée,” he smirked. 

Stiles felt like he was in a fairytale as Derek led him off the dance floor. He couldn’t believe how things had turned out for him. His life had turned out to be even more amazing that what he would have thought possible. He was engaged, he was loved, he had his mother back in his life and he had a burgeoning career.

He was the happiest he has ever been. Things couldn’t get any better than that.

 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this...  
> 1\. I’m sorry it took as long as it did to complete this fic but we made it.  
> 2\. Hope you loved the ending. I felt like not showing how they all ended up would have been a great injustice.  
> 3\. I must say, it was harder writing this story than I thought. I wanted all the clones to be identical to Stiles initially but that was implausible because it would have confused everyone if I wrote “Stiles 1 said...” and also it would’ve not be an interesting story. The clone scene with all the clones and Dylan torturing them was bliss to write because of how different the characters were. They were all the same but different. They needed those distinguishing characters. In the end I’m glad that I made these changes because it just gave the story such richness.  
> 4\. Writing this was a great learning experience. In the middle I then started The Vanishing Proposal which was such a different story but the experience of writing has been great. If you want a more romantic Sterek story, I suggest you click my username and go read that completed fic. I also have other stories if you’re interested.  
> 5\. You can find me on www.thelionmutters.tumblr.com and also on www.thelionmutters.blogspot.com  
> Please please please comment and give kudos if you are enjoying it. I want to hear your thoughts.


End file.
